ABLR 3: 24 Hour Salad and Joe Froggers

I'm not sure what counts as "California Cuisine," but dishes that are light and fresh and combine flavors from different cultures is what comes to mind. When it comes to Midwestern fare (not sure you can apply the word 'cuisine' to this kind of cooking without offending home cooks in that part of the country), I think of hefty roasts, hearty casseroles, baked potatoes drowning in sour cream, homemade pies with melt-in-your-mouth crusts, and freshly picked apples and warm cinnamon doughnuts in the fall. Having grown up in Michigan, I also think of chewy salt water taffy and lucious fudge thanks to occasional family trips to Mackinac Island.

There are some food items that I associate with the Midwest and more specifically my childhood, mainly because I don't ever buy or cook with them now. Potato salad and sandwiches made with Miracle Whip (instead of mayonnaise). Cottage cheese and canned fruit (in heavy syrup). Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup (in everything that wasn't Korean). And Cool Whip, the non-dairy frozen whipped topping. My parents LOVED Cool Whip and we had it on just about every kind of dessert that you could conceivably put it on.

One of my mother's co-workers gave her a recipe for a jello salad that we simply called "Green Stuff." It was lime jello mixed with cottage cheese, crushed pineapple, chopped nuts, and Cool Whip. After she made it the first time, we were never without it at home. It was the first thing I would reach for in the fridge when I got home from school. And of course the combination possibilities were endless. Sometimes my mom made it with raspberry jello (what we referred to as "Pink Stuff"), with different types of canned fruit, various nuts, sometimes with coconut flakes, and so on and so on.

I don't see too many jello or even Cool Whip/whipped cream salads these days, not even at church potlucks where they ruled the buffet tables in my childhood. Neither of those items seem to be too terribly popular here in health-conscious, preservative-free SoCal. All the more reason to make the 24 Hour Salad. Often referred to as Ambrosia salad, it is typically made with canned fruit, nuts, whipped cream and marshmallows. The people at Cook's Illustrated stepped it up a notch by creating a recipe that begins with a cooked custard base and uses heavy whipping cream instead of the frozen, non-dairy stuff.

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Now it is not my intention to make just desserts from this book but it seems those are mostly what catch my eye. I'd never heard of Joe Froggers before but when I read the opening paragraph of the recipe, I was hooked:

"These wonderful flat, oversized molasses-spice cookes are moist, salty, rum flavored, and most unusual (and addictive)."

How can someone read that and NOT be compelled to make them?!!

I have to say, these cookies were a bit of a disappointment. The first problem, which was entirely my own fault, was that the molasses flavor was OVERWHELMING. The recipe warns the cook to use mild molasses and specifically warns against the robust kind. I ran out of the regular about halfway through and so I used robust since that was all I had on-hand. Big mistake. I also found the cookies to be a bit too salty and not rum-my enough. And never having made this type of cookie before, I took the first batch out of the oven too soon and so the texture was a bit gummy. That said, I am certainly willing to try this recipe again, this time using the right kind of molasses and cutting the salt in half.

Busy Mom Modifications and Tips

• The 24 Hour Salad has to sit for a day (hence the name) in order for the flavors to combine. It really makes a difference! And as I mentioned, it keeps well in the fridge for several days.
• The cookie dough has to be refrigerated for at least eight hours or else they will spread too much in the oven.

The Results

• I thought the 24 Hour Salad was delicious but my son took one look and said "I don't like that kind of salad." My daughter ate a bit and said it was good but never touched it again. I ended up eating it over several days and I'm happy to report that it kept quite well in the fridge.
• Nobody in my house liked the cookies.

Ratings:

• Difficulty: Both recipes are easy
• Time to prepare: The salad takes about 30 minutes to prepare and a day to sit. The cookies were quick - 15 minutes to make the dough but then you have to refrigerate the dough for 8+ hours.
• Prognosis: I'm on the fence about the cookies. I liked the salad but if no one will eat it but me, then I probably won't be making it too often.

My Shopping List

• The 24 Hour Salad recipe calls heavy cream, frozen sour cherries, and marshmallows (not to mention canned pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges and slivered almonds). I just happened to have all those things in my kitchen on this particular day thanks to my son's recent attempt to make homemade cherry garcia ice cream.
• The Joe Froggers required dark rum as well as the several different spices, all things I keep on hand.