Gross! 1 Dish I Hate on our Minnesota Thanksgiving Table, But Mom Loves it.
Just about every family has that one dish during the holidays that is a tradition.
For Thanksgiving we have one that has been a tradition I am quite certain, since before I was even born. Probably even before my older brothers were born. My grandma, on my mom's side of the family, always made it every year. Later on in life, my mom continued to carry on the tradition and still makes it each year.
I however, have no intention on continuing on the tradition, my oldest brother, who actually seems to like it, can. The dish I hate seeing at the Thanksgiving table every year is none other than, Tomato Aspic. YUCK!
Ever heard of it before? It's a jello type salad that, at least in my family, is made with tomato juice, raspberry or strawberry jello, celery, olives and a few other things. That to me all combined together is DISGUSTING! Granted, I know, we all like different things and I feel I'm just doing my part in making sure those that do like it, get as much of it as they want.
After ranting about it for so long and swearing I'll never eat it, I thought maybe I should do a little research on it, and learn exactly where it came from. This is what I learned from What's Cooking America:
Aspics are made of gelatin, most often served in the shape of a fancy mold. They date back to the middle ages, with a detailed recipe of aspic being written in 1375. Aspics were first made in the United States in the 19th century. At that time, grocery store packets of gelatin did not exist, so making gelatin was an incredibly time-intensive process that required the boiling of animal bones and hooves to extract the collagen. The broth simmered for several hours until it became protein rich and velvety. It was then clarified, and, once cooled, the liquid set into what most folks would recognize as gelatin.
Danggg...okay, I can show some respect to the history of the aspic, but that still doesn't mean I'm going to like it. However, I did read elsewhere on Food and Wine, that the recipe they made seemed;
...like a wobbly take on a Virgin Mary
I like Bloody Mary's, so maybe I need to look at it that way, pick around the darn olives (probably what I like least about it) and finally give it a try this year. But something tells me my Minnesota reaction will be a bit like most of the Southern kids' reaction to trying it for the first time...
But I can't be the only one who has a dish they hate at the Thanksgiving table! What is the dish you can't stand? Let me know, I'm not alone - meganz@mix949.com
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