My sister Kateri sent me this recipe book some time ago and I have been meaning to try a recipe from it. The New Joys of Jell-O, a 1973 follow-up to the original 1960′s Joys of Jell-O, takes jello from the suburbs to the city and features photographs of sophisticated, swinging, singles in a posh Manhattan penthouse feasting on a dizzying array of jello selections… Seems about right.

I selected the Strawberries Romanoff recipe but substituted cherries for strawberries because I wanted to use this cherry themed mold Flossie gave me for Christmas. It has a top layer of cherry whipped cream with a touch of brandy and bottom layer of sweet dark cherries suspended in cherry gelatin. Click on the recipe image below to try this one for yourself!

I rang in the new year over the weekend with a little something boozy from the book.  This very rich and creamy Mudslide jello, fashioned after the cocktail, is made with generous amounts of coffee and Irish cream liqueurs, heavy cream, and a touch of vodka. A little cocoa powder tops it off (whipped cream and/or chocolate syrup would also be good).

Have a happy New Year everyone!

As one of the artists for Food Lust: Shock Candy (for which I served up jello at the opening reception last week), Martha Rich created a series of paintings on vintage cookbook pages featuring cakes and jello molds. I saw the above painting and recognized it immediately. The inspiration for this particular painting was my very own Peaches & Cream Jello!  Honored, I had to share her work here. Martha works in both the commercial and fine art fields. Her commercial work has been featured in Rolling Stone, CosmoGirl, Bon Appetite, and used in music videos for Beck and Less Than Jake. She has been shown in galleries across the country including the Santa Monica Museum of Art, La Luz de Jesus Gallery in LA, and CultureFix Gallery in NY. Check out more of her work on her website.

This exhibition will transform six store front windows in Brooklyn into an artistic candy land with displays of sculptures made of Jell-O, photography of mouthwatering desserts, paintings on vintage recipe books, and Polaroids that will tease your taste buds. The opening reception is this Tuesday evening, December 6th and yours truly will be on hand to serve up some jello treats from the book! If you are in the New York area come out and see me and have a taste of my Green Milk Tea Jello, reminiscent of trendy bubble tea and made with green tea ice cream and blueberries. I’ll have other creations to sample as well. Check out Where Am I Gallery‘s exhibition page for more info and hope to see you there!

I wanted to make something very warm and fall-like for Thanksgiving this year. I found a maple leaf shaped baking pan and thought that maple gelatin would be the perfect fit. To balance the sweetness of the gelatinous pure maple topping, I used creamy almond flavored Dofu Delight gelatin as a base with a little brown sugar and vanilla added. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

(Click on the comments section for recipe.)

Movember is an annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues. My friend Ronan asked me to make a moustache jello to promote his Mo Space page where he is campaigning for the cause.  I found this mold on Etsy and prepared it with lime gelatin and black food dye.  Good luck with your fund-raising Ronan and happy mo-growing guys!

How-Tuesday: Raspberry Jello Cosmo

I was very excited a few weeks ago when Etsy invited me to participate in their How-Tuesday video series to demonstrate my jello making skills. For the video made a Raspberry Cosmo jello mold which I served at my friend Claire‘s annual birthday brunch. The mold is made with cranberry juice, triple sec, vodka, and lime juice with raspberries suspend throughout. This will be one of the jello molds included in the book but you can click here to read the full article on the Etsy Blog and learn how to make your own. Thank you Etsy and Happy Birthday Claire!

(Click on the comments section for recipe.)

At long last, my jello recipe book is available for pre-order and I am very excited! Packed with 50+ wiggly recipes, lots of tips & tricks for making your own jello creations, and plenty of pretty jello photos to gaze upon. The book contains some old favorites from the blog and some new treats too. Order your copy today!