Ribbon Salad

My mom, a young married woman with no children yet, sat guiltily in her seat at her in-law's kitchen table. It was lunch time and leftovers from the night before were being pulled out of the fridge for the noonday meal.

Her mother-in-law's voice rung out from the depths of the fridge in a distinct Maine accent, "Well, I was sure I put a whole ribbon salad away last night, but here there are two pieces missing!" 

My mom looked down at her plate and busied herself with the silverware as her sisters-in-law began trying to pinpoint the guilty party.

"The last thing I ate last night was a piece of pie at 6 o'clock."

"Well, it wasn't me. That pan was full when I went to bed."

The investigation continued until finally my mom couldn't stand it any longer. 

"It was me." 

"Shaaaron!" her mother-in-law said in surprise. 

You see, this ribbon salad is a family favorite. My Grammy has been making it for years. Probably since the 1950's when jello was a staple at every fancy meal. However, the middle layer has a troublesome ingredient for my mom (and my sis and I). Mayonnaise. An entire cup. 

"I knew there was mayo in it." she explained. "And I didn't want the pressure of everyone watching me eat it. I wanted to know if I liked it without feeling like I had to fake it. So I snuck down after everyone went to bed and tried it." 

Laughter and snickering ensued as the sisters decided that she must have liked it very much to have eaten two generous pieces! 

Ribbon Salad

Makes one 10 x 14 pan

Total Time: Approximately 4 hours

Bottom Layer

2  3 oz. boxes lime jello

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cold water

Middle Layer

1  3 oz. box lemon jello

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1 lb. 4 oz can crushed pineapple

8 oz. (1 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup cream, whipped

1 cup mayonnaise

Top Layer

2  3 oz. boxes cherry jello

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cold water

For the Top Layer:

Mix boxes of lime jello with 2 cups boiling water, stirring until dissolved.

Then stir in 2 cups cold water.

Pour into a 10 x 14 pan and chill in the fridge while you start the middle layer. 

You can use a 9 x 13 pan, but you will have extra that won't fit. You can make a mini-version in addition if you wish. 

For the Middle Layer:

Dissolve the lemon jello in 1 cup boiling water.

Add marshmallows and whisk until marshmallows are fully dissolved. 

Mix cream cheese into lemon jello mixture until well blended.

Then stir in can of crushed pineapple. Chill in the fridge.

While mixture is chilling, whip the cream. You want the whipped cream to have nice, soft peaks. 

If you whip too long, it will start to look like butter. 

Remove lemon jello mixture from the fridge and whisk in the mayonnaise. Whisk well. 

You don't want to bite into a chunk of mayo. Bleh. 

Then, carefully fold in the whipped cream until fully incorporated. 

Be gentle or the whipped cream will deflate.

Put lemon jello mixture back in the fridge to chill until green layer is mostly set. 

When green layer is mostly set, carefully spoon lemon mixture on top of the green layer. 

The green layer should be slightly soft. You want it to be sticky enough to cling to the middle layer, but firm enough to hold that middle layer up. 

Again, if you are using a 9 x 13 pan, you will have to remove some of the lemon mixture to another small pan or bowl because it won't all fit. 

Place pan in fridge so that the middle layer can set.

For the Top Layer:

While the middle layer is chilling in the fridge, mix together the cherry jello with 2 cups boiling water, stirring until dissolved. Then stir in 2 cups of cold water.

Chill in the fridge until syrupy, but still pourable.

When middle layer is mostly set and cherry jello is starting to thicken, carefully pour the cherry jello on top of the lemon layer. Pour very slowly, and close to the pan or you will make divots in the second layer and little bits of lemon jello will mix with the cherry.

Chill in the fridge until completely set. 

Serve cold. Keep refrigerated.

Recipe from my Grammy.