there are no words…

Tangy Tomato Aspic…  it is hard to describe in full the horror that was Tangy Tomato Aspic…

the ingredients were a frightening combination from the very start.

• tomato sauce
• lemon jello
• celery
• more horrifying things

i optimistically mentioned perhaps it would taste something like a bloody mary.  on the one hand, i have never actually had a bloody mary, but if they taste anything like this mold did, no one would ever drink them and the drink would have died a quiet death…

the taste was horrific.. i don’t have anything to compare it to.  it was the worst thing i have ever eaten. it smelled horrible, it looked disturbing and as the primary reviewer i had to eat my whole damn portion!

we tried a few different things to see if we could at least make it edible if not enjoyable

• olive – this was supposed to be part of the garnish, but i thought perhaps eating them with the mold would help improve the flavor |result:olives covered in something disgusting
• parsley – again garnish|result:parsley covered in something disgusting
• cracker – this was a last ditch effort using crackers from the appetizer tray.. |result: ruined a perfectly tasty cracker by covering it in something disgusting
• ranch dressing – ok, this was a long shot, but surprisingly did improve the SMELL of the dish.. |result: better smelling something disgusting

so the final judgement…

Visual Appeal: 1 purple fork

Taste: 0 purple forks

Repeat factor: -1 purple forks (after this review, i would prefer to never even think of tomato aspic again as long as i live)

the bright side… we can only go up from here (unless we actually contract botulism)

Molded Waldorf Salad

well, one would think that a jello mold with fruit in it would be pretty tasty, nothing too far out of the ordinary.. well.. i was quite surprised to take that first bite and say, ‘i think the cabbage mold tasted better than this one’

i am not sure what flavor combination just wasn’t working in the mix but there was something that just wasn’t quite right.  i did determine that the bites that contained banana tasted better than bites without, but other than that i have no idea why it tasted so disturbing 🙂

that said, i still ate quite a bit of it. it wasn’t BAD, just not quite right….  I am looking forward to the next mold (which is tomorrow actually, i am a little late in my review)

Final Review Results –

Visual Appeal: 4 purple forks – comments were made that it looked like a frozen fruit cup

Taste: 3  purple forks

Repeat factor: 2 purple fork (i think if there were more banana it might be a 3)

The Verdict is in… how tasty is a Confetti Cabbage Mold

So you saw the pictures and heard about my brave step to go first and take one for the team… and how glad am I that I did..

My first bite was taken with trepidation… you saw the pictures in the previous post…  food just shouldn’t look like that.  BUT!  it was good, I probably won’t put it on my regular weekly menu, but it was a great experience and was surprisingly tasty.  Now with that said, it tasted quite a bit like coleslaw, but the texture was SO SO VERY wrong.  I have always had issues with taste vs. texture  (can you say buttered popcorn jelly belly?  the flavor is so perfect, but the texture just kills me)

But i was able to put the clashing taste/texture aside and just try to see what it tasted like, a vinegary coleslaw… and I do love me some coleslaw.

Most importantly it was great fun to be part of this moldy experiment.  I have even convinced my mom over at http://oldentimes.wordpress.com to join in with us since she has the same cookbook (although not the same editions so she will sadly miss out on some of our wonderful selections).

Final Review Results – on the proprietary Tara Jo scale of measurement

Visual Appeal: 2 purple forks (this should have been 1 but i gave it  2 because the radishes were SO BEAUTIFUL) 

Taste: 3 1/2 purple forks

Repeat factor: 1 purple fork