Pink Perfection Cranberry Salad Recipes

CRANBERRY SALAD (A.K.A. THANKSGIVING PINK STUFF)

Steps:

• The day before serving, cook cranberries in water over low heat until soft.
• Add sugar and mash.
• Add chopped nuts.
• Stir, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• About 4 hours before serving, add the fruit cocktail.
• Just before serving, whip cream, add sugar and vanilla and whip until soft peaks form.
• Add bananas to fruit mixture.
• Gently fold whipped cream into fruit mixture until well blended.
• Serve immediately.
• Note: You can use Cool Whip instead of whipping the cream, but the flavor is so much better with the real thing!

MOLDED CRANBERRY SALAD

Steps:

• Dissolve gelatin in simmering water in large heatproof bowl.
• Stir in orange rind.
• Pour reserved pineapple juice into 2-cup measure.
• Add lemon juice and enough cold water to total 2 cups.
• Stir into gelatin mixture.
• Refrigerate 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until consistency of unbeaten egg whites.
• Fold in cranberries, celery, walnuts and pineapple.
• Pour into lightly oiled 1-quart fluted ring mold or crown mold.
• Chill at least 25 hours or until very firm.
• When ready to serve, loosen edge of mold with thin knife.
• Dip mold quickly in hot water to loosen salad, then invert onto serving plate.
• Cut in slim wedges to serve.

GRANDMA'S CRANBERRY SALAD

Steps:

• 1. Boil the cup of water. Dissolve the Jell-o in the hot water in an 8-inch square pan mix well. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and pineapple juice. Stir to dissolve well. Note: You can substitute the 8x8 dish and use a 9x13 dish, it seems to gel up a bit better that way.
• 2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Chill overnight.
• 3. Grandma's Notes: Chop up the pecans first before getting the blender wet. Or you could just buy pre-chopped pecans and save a step. Use the blender or food processor to chop up cranberries, then orange, seeded, and partially peeled. The chopped peel gives it that special zing!

PERFECTION SALAD

Steps:

• Pour boiling water over jello in bowl.
• Stir until jello is disolved.
• Stir in vinegar, veggies, salt, and cold water.
• Pour into mold, chill until firm.
• Serve unmolded on chilled plate, topped with a generous dollop of mayonnaise (family tradition of the last 30 years or so demands that you use Best Foods mayo brand - *never* Miracle Whip).
• If preferred, use 1/2 cup celery and 1 cup grated carrot.
• You can use sugar-free jello for a diabetic/lowcarb version of Perfection Salad. Sometimes lemon jello is difficult to find - we've sometimes used lime instead.

THE PINK STUFF (CREAMY CRANBERRY SALAD)

Steps:

• 1. Empty the cranberries and pineapple into a sieve and strain out the liquid. You may have to stir up the fruit and press on it to get all the liquid.
• 2. Put the liquid into a measuring cup and fill to 2 cups with water. Boil the liquid. and mix it with the two packages of Jello.
• 3. Allow the jello to partially set for about 45 minutes. It should not be hard, if you stick a finger in the jello it should come out coating you finger with no lumps.
• 4. About 15 minutes prior to taking the jello out of the fridge, mix the left over cranberries and pineapple with the apple chunks and walnuts.
• 5. In a separate bowl whip the cream cheese until it is easily stirred and them add the cool whip. Dump in the partially set jello and mix well. It's ok if there are cheese chunks it adds to the overall presentation.
• 6. Fold in the fruit and walnut mixture and transfer to a presentation bowl. (We put it in a beautiful blue pie plate.) Refrigerate for at least 3 hours until set, but it always tastes better if you make it the day before.

GRAMMY'S PINK STUFF

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve Jello with boiling water. Add cranberry sauce and sour cream, Blend together with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Pour into gelatin mold or serving bowl and place into refridgerator for apprx. 8 hours or until set. Enjoy!

CREAMY CRANBERRY SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix first 6 ingredients. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., To serve, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream and walnuts into cranberry mixture.