HAVING FUN WITH A 1960s CHEESE RECIPE from Korina Moss

My friend and cozy mystery booktuber, Sonia Moore, whose YouTube handle is Sonia with an i, sent me two terrific and classic cheese cookbooks. One was called Cooking with Cheese from Better Homes & Gardens from 1966. The other was a paperback from the American Dairy Association of Wisconsin called Cheese Pleasers and wasn't dated. However, the recipes were very similar to the ones in Cooking with Cheese, as was the look of the photos, so I assume it was published around the same year. Some of the recipes are classics, others look delicious and I intend to try, and others are... well, if you lived through the 60s and 70s, you can probably guess. We had a lot of strange food back then! Last Friday, I went on The Beachbum Bookworm's YouTube channel for a live book read-along discussion of my first Cheese Shop Mystery, Cheddar Off Dead, During the live chat, I was going to make a recipe from the book, like the Short-cut Croque Monsieur (Mr. Crunchy Bite). Instead, I thought it would be fun to make a throwback recipe from one of the cheese cookbooks. And so I found this one I will share with you: Molded Cheese Delight. I must say, if you want to try it as written with the cheese and serve it over a bed of lettuce, go for it. I can't say I recommend it. It didn't really taste of cheese but the texture of the cheese in it was odd. However, if you omit the cheese, it would actually make a fun spring or summer dessert because it's very colorful. If you like creamsicles or orange soda, you'll like this, as it tastes reminiscent of those. Have fun with it! I did!

MOLDED CHEESE DELIGHT

Ingredients:

1 envelope orange-flavored gelatin 

20 large marshmallows

1 cup (1/4 lb) shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed pineapple

1 cup pineapple juice (you may not need to buy extra, just use what's in the can)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts to cut the sweetness)

1 cup (1/2 pint) whipped cream (or make homemade whipped cream)

Directions:

Heat 1 cup of water until hot. 

Dissolve gelatin in hot water.

Put marshmallows in large bowl, pour hot gelatin over marshmallows and stir until melted. My marshmallows didn't melt from stirring, so I put the whole bowl in the microwave and heated for 1 minute, then used a wooden spoon to break up the marshmallows even more and they dissolved. 

Add shredded cheese, pineapple, pineapple juice, and chopped nuts. I always say to buy a block of cheese and freshly shred it, but I was cutting corners on this recipe. I'd bought extra pineapple juice because I wasn't sure how much would be in the can of crushed pineapples. As it turns out, there was just about 1 cup of juice in the 20 oz can, so I didn't need the extra pineapple juice. Keep in mind that a 20 oz can is more than 1 cup of pineapples, so measure and dump out the juice first and then measure out the pineapples. It calls for crushed pineapples, but I used "tidbits" because it was cheaper.

Chill mixture until partially set. I chilled it for about 2 hours. 

Once partially chilled, fold in whipped cream. To complete the classic vibe of this recipe, I used a packaged whipped topping (like Cool Whip) instead of buying heavy cream and making whipped cream myself, which you can choose to do. 

I then transferred the mixture into a nonstick bundt pan which I lightly sprayed with oil. You can put the mixture in whatever kind of mold you have. 

Return it to the refrigerator and chill for another 5-6 hours or overnight. 

Unmold on salad greens. To unmold, place a plate on top of the bundt pan and then carefully flip both over, holding the plate securely to the bundt pan. Then gently lift the bundt pan off. 

I forgot to take a photo of mine when I first flipped it over onto a plate, because I was about to go on YouTube to show it to The Beachbum Bookworm and her viewers, so I took this photo after I'd already taken a bite of it and it had been sitting out for about an hour. Honestly, it doesn't look much different than it did when I first took it out of bundt pan. LOL. How adventurous are you?

 

Readers: Would you make a version of this jello mold? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and the Agatha Award finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Listed as one of USA Today’s Best Cozy Mystery series, her books have also been featured in PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, and Writer’s Digest. Korina is also a book coach and freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy and traditional mysteries. 

To find out more about the Cheese Shop Mystery series and subscribe to her FREE monthly newsletter, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. 

Korina is also a book coach and freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy and traditional mysteries. Using her experience writing her award-winning series for a Big 5 publisher, she has the inside track on what editors, agents, and readers are looking for in a mystery.  Whether you're a new writer hoping to be traditionally or independently published, or you're an established writer wanting some guidance with a manuscript, she can help you strengthen your book. You can find more information on her website and contact her at korinamossauthor@gmail.com. 

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Korina’s latest book, Fondue or Die, is one of the current nominees for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. The awards will be announced at the Malice Domestic fan convention on April 26th. If you’d like to attend, more information may be found here. 

FONDUE OR DIE