Something glorious happened in 1978. Something... obscenely wonderful. The M&M/Mars company put out a cookbook. A cookbook filled with strange and exotic uses for their products, uses hitherto undreamed of.
My favorite chapter is called "Conversation Starters." This is the main dish section. Yes. The main dish section... of the cookbook dedicated to candy. It is aptly named, but I think a better title would be "Where Angels Fear to Tread."
Tomato Aspic
Try this shimmering tomato mold with tuna or chicken salad.
2 tablespoons (2 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
4 cups tomato juice
2 (1-11/16 oz.) pkgs. STARBURST Fruit Chews (22 candies)
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 drops hot pepper sauce
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup sliced green onion
Salad greens
Mayonnaise
Combine gelatin and water. Let stand 3 to 4 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup tomato juice and candies. Melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Add celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and gelatin mixture. Stir until gelatin melts. Blend in remaining tomato juice, green pepper and green onions. Pour into an oiled 6-cup mold. Chill until firm, 4 to 5 hours. Serve on salad greens with mayonnaise dressing. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Verdict: This is awful. Just awful. It is like cold wobbly tomato soup... with Starbursts. You may think, optimistically, that the two might somehow meld together. No. Not at all. It is much like maple syrup on spaghetti, or frosting on broccoli.
This is a landmark occasion in Time Travel Kitchen history, because husband was unable to eat even one bite. He ran full tilt for the sink and spat again and again to remove the taste from his mouth. I ate a bite, but it was not easy.
Baby ate a bite without even pulling a face, but I have also found her eating her own poop.
I am excited to try the beef stew recipe from this book!
