Mom's Jello Mold

I am only slightly embarrassed to put a Jello mold on this blog. But one of its main functions is to catalog the foods that my family and I care about, so haute cuisine be damned: this Jello mold has been showing up at family functions since my grandmother came up with it long before I was thinking about being born.

Anyways, I think it's pretty and I like it better than cranberry sauce to have with my turkey. It's dark red, it's tangy, it's got texture. It's very 1950s. You can imagine some people getting back from the Catskills and trying to decide what to serve their neighbors for dinner:

"What do you think of liver and onions, Candice?"
"Well, Fred, we served it to the Horowitzes the last time they were here. How about some nice kishkas?"
"Kishkas! But I..."
"'But I' what? Nu? Solomon, you hear your father? Complaining about Kishkas? Tell him--"
"Alright, Candice, Alright. But only if you make that Jello mold with the plums."

So...anyways:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 6oz. packages berry (cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, etc.) Jello
• 2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups seedless tangerines or oranges, cut into pieces
• 2 large golden delicious apples, sliced and diced
• 1 grated orange peel
• 2 (15 oz.) cans whole cranberry sauce
• 1 can purple plums, pitted and chopped
• Non-stick cooking spray

RECIPE:

1. Boil 2 cups of water and put in a large bowl.
2. Dissolve Jello in the water, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
3. Add 2 cups of cold water and grated orange rind.
4. Refrigerate until "jiggly": 30-60 minutes.
5. Break up the cranberry sauce and add the fruit and nuts to the Jello.
   
6. Spray an 8-10 cup mold with cooking spray and pour in the Jello mixture.
7. Refrigerate until the Jello is set.

Solomon, Candice, Fred and the Horowitzes will all be pleased, I'm sure.