Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Leola’s Salad Recipe Collection: Frog-Eye Salad

Frog-eye salad
I’m the keeper of my late grandmothers' recipe cards. I have a huge stack. In her writing, her friends’ writing, her daughters' writing. I have her desserts, muffins, and the most coveted of all, the salad section. Church Salad, Christmas Salad, Orange Salad. If you’re imagining green salads, you’re wrong. We’re talking an amazing Kansas farmwife of the 40's, 50's and 60s, and that means Jello Salads. Marshmallow Salads. And then there was this one… Ja’AmLo is hosting a Fourth of July get together at Gay Hill. Fireworks over the pond, BBQ, family...and the infamous Frog-Eye Salad.
Frog-Eye Salad
1 cup sugar
2 T flour
2-1/2 tsp salt
1-3/4 cups pineapple juice
2 eggs, beaten
1 T lemon juice
3 quarts water
1 T cooking oil
1 package (16 oz) Acini de Pepe*
3 cans (11 oz each) mandarin oranges, drained
2 cans (20 oz each) pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 carton (9 oz) non dairy whipped topping
1 cup miniature marshmallows (optional)
1 cup coconut (optional)

Combine sugar, flour and one-half teaspoon of the salt. Gradually stir in pineapple juice and eggs. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until thickened. Add lemon juice. Cool mixture to room temperature. Bring water, remaining two teaspoons salt and oil to boil. Add Acini de Pepe. Cook at rolling boil until Acini de Pepe is done. Drain Acini de Pepe, rinse with water, drain again and cool to room temperature. Combine egg mixture and Acini de Pepe. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight in airtight container. Add remaining ingredients. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Refrigerate until chilled in airtight container. Salad may be refrigerated for as long as a week in airtight container. It also may be frozen, though freezing somewhat alters the texture. Makes 25 servings.**

*Acine de Pepe is Italian for "peppercorns", these are tiny peppercorn-shaped pasta. But I think I may have seen them on the shelf next to the Tapioca?
**You probably won't need to double this bad boy. 25 servings!

Bonus Recipe!
While searching for the above request, my eye spied this Blueberry Salad, and I thought of Rozanne’s cooking prowess with blueberries. I’m sure this recipe is right up her alley…
Blueberry Salad
Use 9x13 glass pan

1st layer: 1 pkg orange jello
2/3 c pineapple juice
1 c boiling water
Can of pineapple tidbits: SET.*

2nd layer: 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese
8 oz. carton sour cream
1/3 c. sugar
Chill until VERY firm.*

3rd layer: 1 pkg black berry (Royal)
1 c. boiling water
1 can blueberry pie filling+
Mix together-CHILL.*

*Note there are three times this needs to set, firm and chill: plan to make it three days ahead of time or something.
+I know you want to use canned blueberry pie filling, but I’m sure you could substitute fresh if you need to.

9 comments:

Rozanne said...

Jello-based salads are fascinating! They were featured at many a church potluck and holiday get-together when I was growing up.

I love the name "Church Salad," BTW. What's in it? Steeples and stained- glass windows?

Sorry to disappoint, but I do not think I will be making Blueberry Salad unless I alter it considerably--like leaving out both the orange jello and the black berry jello and eliminating all things pineapple and substituting fresh berries for the blueberry pie filling. I do like the cream cheese/sour cream aspect of it, though!

Rigo said...

You know I'll be making that Frog-Eye salad this weekend.

Anonymous said...

Wow that brings back the memories. My mom used to make a similar fruit cocktail doctored up salad thingy when I was a kid. It was basically whipped cream with drained fruit cocktail plus whatever frsh fruit they had in the house. I remember being not too thrilled about the brown bananas in it, however my sister and I would fight to see who would get the solitary maraschino cherry half.
I have a friend from Minnesota who tells midwest stories about lime jello salad complete with celery chunks and the obligatory Jello mold.
Ahh memories.

LeLo said...

Rozanne-
What? No Blueberry Salad? Perhaps you'd prefer Summer Salad (with mayo), Elegant Cherry-Berry Dessert on a Cloud, Angel Hash Salad, Microwave Fruit Salador Frosted Grape Salad? You let me know and I'll send you them anytime.

Rigo-
With the amount of people you've been hanging out with, it's a good thing the serving amount of that Frog-Eye Salad feeds 25! (sorry, couldn't help that)

MerchMikey-
I am collecting scientific data that shows that southerners prefer cottage cheese in their Jello, northerners prefer mayonaisse, and midwesterners go for whipped cream/topping. I do have a recipe for Ring-Around-The-Tuna which uses the lime green jello with celery. Let me know if you want it.

Anonymous said...

LeLo,
OMG! I just remembered that I have a buttload of old housekeeping mags form the 40's and 50's thaty I scored in Yakima when they could be had for 50 cents each.
They have TONS of photos of goofy recipes using hot dogs and Jello. That stuff must have been invented then.
Hey one of our local diners has a special now and then called "Tuna Wiggle" HeHe, I always chuckle when I see that.
OK so I will scan some of those recipe photos and get back to ya. Maybe I should start a thread on my message boards over at Tiny.
Keep bringin the memories back.

Anonymous said...

I'll post a body count after the salad is ingested, Sunday. I'm making hawaiian kalua pig, serverd with pineapple and methinks the pineapple infused frog-eye salad will compliment it in that o-so-middle america way. Hopefully it will bring back memories of grandma and be a little surprise for the rest of the family. Then we blow shit up.

Kathryn said...

Lelo, that salad sounds yummy, but alas, I don't eat jello or marshmellows (unless their vegan and I don't have the energy to trek on out to the new Wild Oats which is un-conveniently located in the new Bridgeport Mall, sell-outs...)
I will keep the recipe for a day that I DO have the energy.

Rozanne said...

Angel Hash! WTF?

Aerialrose said...

This needs to be an Ethical Vegan dish (find a replacer for the eggs, use coconut or soy whip cream instead and use Vegan marshmallows). Otherwise I'm not touching it with a ten foot pole!