LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - DECEMBER 8, 2019 by Lynne Belluscio I posted a request on the “LeRoy Then and Now” page last week and asked folks to share their Thanksgiving family Jell-O recipes. Quite a few peo- ple posted recipes. And then I thought, wouldn’t it be great to share those recipes with visitors who come through the museum. I bet folks would like a “taste of LeRoy’s favorite Jell-O rec- ipes.” So if all of you will share your favorite family Jell-O rec- ipes, I’m going to put them to- gether in a little book and next year the Jell-O Gallery will have a great souvenir. I posted my family’s tra- ditional Thanksgiving Jell-O salad that my mother always served. It was Waldorf salad of apples, walnuts and celery in lime Jell-O served on a leaf of lettuce. She usually put mayon- naise on it, which I hated. My grandson asked why I served it on lettuce and of course the answer - - “That’s what makes it a salad and not a dessert.” My daughter chimed in that she leaves out the celery be- cause her kids don’t like it and she never serves it with may- onnaise. And it’s served in an octagonal Tiffany bowl that was a wedding gift from her friend, Kebby Boylan Mayer. It was interesting to read that several people have a spe- cial bowl for Jell-O. Joan Falcone: “My mother always made cherry Jell-O with bananas and only on the holi- days. It was always served in the same bowl, which was the only thing she had that had been her mothers. I now have that bowl!” And Nancy Kirchner uses her grandmother’s bowl: “My grandmother who was a resident of LeRoy from 1915 til her death in 1971 always made her Jell-O salad for the holidays from lemon Jell-O with cream cheese, shredded carrots, pine- apple and maraschino cherries. She had a beautiful bowl that she served it in. I still carry on her tradition and use her beauti- ful bowl.” Russ Grasso shared his fam- ily special treat: We didn’t have a Jell-o tradition for Thanksgiv- ing but we had a special win- tertime treat called Jell-O in the snow! My mom (a native LeRoyan) pretty much grew up without a refrigerator in the ear- ly years (they had an ice box) in the wintertime my grandmother would prepare Jell-O and once she added the cold water to “shock” the mixture, would cover the kettle and place it out- side on the snow-covered back step to set. It would form an icy ring around the kettle. I don’t know what it was about placing it outside versus placing it in the refrigerator to set, but it altered the fruit flavors of the Jell-O in a delicious way! It especially tasted good with raspberry and strawberry Jell-O but lemon was also awesome outside!” Peggy Beach tells a similar sto- ry: “My mom used to put Jell-O in the snow probably because there wasn’t any room in the ice box” Here are just a few of the other stories: Martha Davis: “Hannah made me make our family strawberry/cream cheese mold again this year.” Cindy Smail Robinson: “Lime Jell-O with shredded carrots and shredded cabbage. Chewy Jell-O” Carole AQueal: “My mom would use fresh fruit or fruit cocktail and ginger ale or seven up in place of the cold water.” Brenda Mancuso: “Lem- on and lime. Cottage cheese, mayo, walnuts, milk all blend- ed together. Sounds terrible but tastes delicious.” Patricia Vella: “I make Jell-O with shredded carts, ap- ples and walnuts. So good.” Laura Resch: “Orange Jell-O – (just the powder - no water) cottage cheese mandarin oranges and cool whip. Deli- cious!!!!” Carol Lathan Bonacqusti: “We had lime Jell-O with fresh cottage cheese (from Uncle Fred) and walnuts topped with real whipped cream)” Monica Diasio: – “My mother, Bernie Joy, always made cherry Jell-O with banan- as and walnuts. She said, as a little girl they could only have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas because they had to let it set outside in the cold. Since she passed away 7 years ago, I have made it a thanksgiving tradition for my family.” Debbie Tabone Groark – (Her grandfather Pearle Wait “invented” Jell-O) “Grandpa Wait would be proud – 4th gen- eration still having strawberry Jell-O every holiday – no fruit or topping added.” – Debbie – We also have your grandmother May Wait’s favorite recipe. Kathleen Fannon: “We had my mom’s lime Jell-O with pineapple, walnuts, and cream cheese – it wouldn’t be Thanks- giving without it.” Peg Halliag- an – “We always have the same one, it was Dad’s favorite.” Judy Pinkham: “My mom, Jeanne, always made raspberry Jell-O with applesauce replac- ing the cold water .” Sydney Lou Harper: “I make raspberry Jell-O with chopped raspberries, strawber- ries, and blackberries inside and use that as a topping for vanilla cheese cake.” Holly Eschberger: “Tart cherry Jell-O salad made with cherry Jell-O, walnuts, coconut, pineapple, cherries and ginger- ale” Penny Fram: “Our thanks- giving: Lime Jell-O with a twist; walnuts and crushed pine- apple, but with cottage cheese and horseradish. Tangy and not quite as sweet.” So if you have a family recipe that you’d like to share, write out the directions and post it on LeRoy Then and Now or email it to historicalle- roy@gmail.com , or put it in the mail to Jell-O Gallery PO Box 176, LeRoy NY 14482. And if you mention family - - mom or grandma – send along their name. This is going to be a fun project. The Hometown of Jell-O Shares Its Recipes