The Everything Salad Book (27 page)

1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice in a large saucepan. Add enough water to juice to equal 1½ cups. Bring to a boil over high heat. In large bowl, combine gelatin and boiling liquid; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.
   

2. Stir in sparkling soda and chill until the mixture is syrupy, about 45 minutes. Add fruits and stir gently. Pour into 9″ × 13″ pan and chill until set. Cut into squares to serve.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........78

Fat:..........0 g

Protein:..........1 g

Sodium:..........66 mg

Fiber:..........0.5 g

Carbohydrate:..........18 g

Indulge your sweet tooth while still eating healthy. Switch around the ingredients if you like; the salad works with any mix of fresh berries.

1. Place blackberries in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Gently toss to coat. Add blueberries to the bowl and toss to mix.
   

2. Stir yogurt, vanilla, and zest together in a mixing bowl. Pour mixture over berries and gently fold until the berries are evenly coated.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........144

Fat:..........1 g

Protein:..........4 g

Sodium:..........37 mg

Fiber:..........4 g

Carbohydrate:..........31 g

Place raspberries in the freezer for 15 minutes before making the recipe to ensure the berries are very cold, but not frozen.

1. Drain syrup from pineapple and oranges into a large mixing bowl. Stir sherbet into bowl and mix well.
   

2. Stir pineapple and oranges into sherbet. Mix well. Gently fold raspberries into the bowl and serve. Chill salad in freezer for 20–30 minutes if soupy, but be careful not to let it freeze completely.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........86

Fat:..........1 g

Protein:..........1 g

Sodium:..........10 mg

Fiber:..........3.5 g

Carbohydrate:..........20 g

Though often mistaken as assorted names for the same dessert, ice cream, sherbet, and sorbet are three different kinds of frozen dessert. Ice cream contains large amounts of milk and/or cream and sorbet is more like a fruit ice without any dairy product. Sherbet falls into the middle area and contains fruit with a small amount of dairy, usually no more than 3 percent.

Serve this fruit salad alone for a light dessert or serve it over a scoop of raspberry sorbet for an indulgent dessert.

1. Remove the peel from each orange and break into segments. Cut the pith and membrane from around each segment. Remove the seeds from each segment. Cut each segment into bite-size pieces and place in large mixing bowl. You should end up with about 3 cups orange pieces.
   

2. Repeat preparation process with grapefruit, lime, and lemon. You should end up with about 1 cup grapefruit, ½ cup lime, and ½ cup lemon pieces. Add grapefruit, lime, and lemon to the bowl.
   

3. Sprinkle salad with salt. Toss well to mix. Sprinkle sugar and candied ginger over salad. Toss well to mix. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator up to 1 hour before serving.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........150

Fat:..........0.5 g

Protein:..........2.5 g

Sodium:..........146 mg

Fiber:..........6 g

Carbohydrate:..........41 g

Old-fashioned molded salads are great for entertaining because they must be made ahead of time. And leftovers are delicious for breakfast!

1. In large bowl, combine gelatin and boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.
   

2. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix well. Pour into 2-quart mold or glass baking dish and chill in refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into squares to serve.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........190

Fat:..........4 g

Protein:..........2 g

Sodium:..........94 mg

Fiber:..........1.5 g

Carbohydrate:..........38 g

There are a few tricks to making gelatin salads. First, be sure to completely dissolve the gelatin in the boiling liquid in the first step. Spoon up a small amount and make sure you can't see any grains of sugar or gelatin. And never use fresh or frozen pineapple, kiwi, or guava in gelatin salads; they will keep it from setting.

Buy mini dark chocolate chips instead of regular dark chocolate chips and you won't have to bother with chopping the chips into smaller chunks.

1. Stir whipped topping and pudding mix together in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, making sure the mix dissolves completely into the topping.
   

2. Remove the stems and pits from the cherries.
   Chop cherries into quarters. You should end up with about 1 cup chopped cherries. Add cherries to bowl.
   

3. Stir chips and pistachios into the salad. Mix well. Serve immediately or cover and chill in refrigerator until serving time.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........274

Fat:..........12 g

Protein:..........3.5 g

Sodium:..........277 mg

Fiber:..........2.5 g

Carbohydrate:..........40 g

Classic spumoni is molded Italian ice cream containing a layer of chocolate and a layer of vanilla with candied fruits and nuts in a whipped cream layer. However, modern spumoni is an American-Italian ice cream that evolved from the classic dessert. Most modern spumoni ice creams contain a chocolate layer, a cherry layer with candied cherries, and a pistachio layer with chopped pistachios.

Make sure to select peaches that are ripe, but still firm, for this recipe. If a peach is soft and overripe, it will simply fall through the grates when grilled.

1. Preheat your grill to medium-high or high. Whisk vinegar, honey, and salt together in a small bowl. Mix well.
   

2. Cut open 4 peaches and remove the pits. Set the other 2 peaches aside for later. Place peach halves on a baking sheet. Drizzle each of the 8 peach halves with a little of the vinegar mixture. Place baking sheet in refrigerator and let peaches marinate for 5 minutes.
   

3. Meanwhile, brush the grill lightly with a little canola oil. Remove the peach halves from the refrigerator. Place each half on the grill, skin up. Turn peaches after 3 minutes. Let peaches cook, skin-side down, for 2 minutes. Remove peaches from grill and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle grilled peaches with brown sugar and cinnamon.
   

4. Slice open the two reserved peaches and remove pits. Dice the raw peaches and place in a mixing bowl. Gently stir pecans into bowl.
   

5. To serve, cut each grilled peach half into quarters. Split grilled peach quarters between 4 dessert bowls. Split pecan mixture evenly and sprinkle over each bowl. Drizzle a little caramel syrup over each salad and serve.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........329

Fat:..........15 g

Protein:..........4.5 g

Sodium:..........123 mg

Fiber:..........6 g

Carbohydrate:..........50 g

This sparkling dessert tastes great after any meal. The cranberry flavors make it suitable for fall or winter meals and the orange flavors make it suitable for spring or summer, so you can serve this dish all year long.

1. In a bowl, dissolve both packages of gelatin in the boiling water. Add the pineapple (do not drain) and stir in the cranberry-orange sauce. Chill until thick but not set.
   

2. Slowly stir in the soda and pour into a mold or an 8″ × 11″ glass dish. Chill until set.
   

3. Cut set salad into cubes and serve on lettuce leaves.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........133

Fat:..........0 g

Protein:..........1 g

Sodium:..........92 mg

Fiber:..........0.5 g

Carbohydrate:..........33 g

If you don't want to deal with a high price or preservatives in soda, try making your own. Mix 2/3 cup carbonated water, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and fine sugar to taste. Mix well and adjust as needed.

Use frozen strawberries, as this recipe includes the water content of the frozen berries.

1. Allow the strawberries to thaw partially.
   

2. In a bowl, dissolve 1 package of the gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Add the strawberries (do not drain) plus 1/3 cup cold water. Stir until the strawberries are completely thawed and well distributed, then turn into an 8″ × 11″ dish. Slice the bananas on top, pressing lightly to cover in the liquid. Chill until firm.
   

3. When the mixture is firm, bring the sour cream to room temperature. Spread it evenly over the gelatin, then return to the refrigerator until the sour cream is thoroughly chilled.
   

4. In a bowl, dissolve the second package of gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Add the pineapple (do not drain) plus 6 ice cubes. Stir until the ice cubes are dissolved.
   

5. Refrigerate for no longer than ½ hour, or until the mixture has gelled slightly but can still be stirred. Carefully pour over the sour cream and chill until firm. Cut into squares and serve in a dessert bowl.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........147

Fat:..........2.5 g

Protein:..........2 g

Sodium:..........86 mg

Fiber:..........2 g

Carbohydrate:..........30 g

Jell-o, the first fruit-flavored gelatin dessert, was invented in 1897 by a cough-syrup manufacturer from New York. By the 1930s, more than a third of all recipes in most cookbooks were gelatin based!

This recipe works best if you chill the sauce in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before pouring it over the salad.

1. Combine strawberries, water, lime juice, sugar, ginger, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and reduce heat to low. Cover and let mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, remove lid, mix, and let sauce cool for 5–10 minutes.
   

2. Pour cooled sauce into a blender. Blend on low until almost smooth.
   

3. Gently combine watermelon balls, honeydew balls, and mango in a large mixing bowl. Pour strawberry sauce over salad and toss gently to coat.
   

4. Garnish salad with slices of strawberry and a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.
   

PER SERVING

Calories:..........84

Fat:..........0 g

Protein:..........1.5 g

Sodium:..........57 mg

Fiber:..........1.5 g

Carbohydrate:..........22 g

Fresh blackberries have a wonderful tangy quality that helps balance the sweet pears, tangerines, and white wine in this dessert recipe.