 |
| A fancy-dress version of the Five Cup Salad (Image **) |
(also known as: Ambrosia)
This is an easy one that many people know, but, because of the somewhat unusual combination of ingredients, folks tend to overlook it when shuffling through their on-board memory files. It can serve as a side, salad or even dessert. It's always popular at potlucks, too.
Ingredients
~ Canned mandarin oranges (15 ounce can, or more)
~ Canned pineapple, small pieces (15 ounce can, or more)
~ 1 Cup shredded, sweetened coconut
~ 1 Cup miniature marshmallows
~ 1 Cup sour cream
Preparation
~ Drain the fruit well. (The juice can be saved for other purposes, basting, for instance, or even for drinking, with the addition of a proper thinning agent, like, ohhh, maybe vodka, tequila or rum.)
~ To combine, first thoroughly stir together the sour cream and the coconut. Next, stir in (gently) the fruit. Finally, mix in (gently) the marshmallows.
~ Chill (the salad, not you). (Well, you too. After all there is that leftover juice.)
You will be tempted to eat this right away. Don’t. If you chill it in the ‘fridge for at least six hours, the flavors will meld and the cold will bring up the sweetness. It will taste 47.5% better. Guaranteed.
If you want to dress this up
Drain a small jar of maraschino cherries (no stems), then let the cherries rest on a paper towel for at least 10 minutes. (If you don’t get all the juice drained off, the cherries will bleed messily on the salad.)
Put the salad in a decent-looking serving bowl or container and smooth the top. Dot the cherries in a pleasing pattern on top.
Serve cold.
Variations
Yogurt or whipped topping can be substituted for all or part of the sour cream.
Other fruits can be added or substituted, including grapes, bananas, strawberries or other sweet berries, or crushed pecans.
;^)
