Tomato Granite

I knew the day would come that I would find one that I hated. H A T E D. Well people, that day has come. I give you a recipe that I cannot recommend you make. But I am still listing it here, incase you are brave.

I love tomatoes. I love basil. I love Granite. This I didn't love. The tomatoes turned tart and akward. and the basil just sorta was blah. The chief commentator said it was the worst thing he ever had in his life. He said, he'd rather take a jar of Safeway chunky salsa and freeze it and eat it, then eat this again. Even the tomatoe eating kid didn't seem to like it.

The only positive thing we can say, was it had great texture. What a waste of good garden tomatoes.

This one came from the Napa Register, I'm guessing at least 20 years ago.

Tomato Granite

1 lb vine-rippened tomatoes (must be very ripe)

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/3 cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2/3 cup V8

Core tomatoes and lightly score on one side. Plunge into boiling water for 10 seconds then transfer to ice water. Squeeze seeds out into a strainer, reserving the juice. Using the same boiling water, blanch basil for 15 seconds and transfer to ice water for 30 seconds or until ready to use. Combine all ingredients into blender, blend until smooth and freeze in your favorite ice cream machine. Return mixture to freezer in a bowl stirring every 10 minutes for about 1 hour until it is frozen and granulated. if you do not have an ice cream machine, combine all ingredients into bowl and place directly into freezer. Once the mixture is partially frozen, stir it every 10 minutes until it is frozen and granulated. serve as a refreshing first course or intermezzo between courses.

serves 6.

Beet Jello Salad

First off let me just say that my friends are really awesome, and really tolerant to try some of the stuff that I am proposing making. I brought this one to Thanksgiving Dinner, in an attempt to make a root veggie more, um, welcome? and add a little zip to the traditional foods.

um. ya.

I found the recipe in Grandma Melusines Largest (of 3) Recipe indexs, it was had written, so at some point in time, she thought it was good enough to write down and include in her collection...

anyway - Here I give you:

Beet Jello Salad

6oz Raspberry Jello

1 1/2 c beet juice - add hot water to make 1 1/2 c.

1 1/2 c pineapple juice

Lemon juice (it does not say how much)

2 tbs sugar

1/4 c cider vinegar (add all to jello cool)

2 c crushed pineapple

2 cups juliene beats

chopped nuts

9x9 mold

There weren't a lot of directions, so Ibasically dumped it all together, squirted in some lemon juice and hoped for the best.

I am not sure ANYTHING would make this actually taste good. It didn't really thicken either and the pecans just sorta floated on the top. Tri Anything girl said it wasn't THAT bad.. so I left the entire dish at her house. I hope her dog doesn't hate me.

Technical stuff: makes 12 or so servings

Difficulty: If you can boil water...

Served with: anything?

Reheat Well?: i wouldn't recomment

Comments: I like beets. Alot, I wouldn't torture beets by putting them in this dish again.

Final grading and what it pairs well with

This is my system for my final grading of the dishes, and also what it pairs well with, cause the foodie in me can't leave you hanging. I have to tell you if it's a cocktail kinda dish, something that goes well with wine, or if it's a dish where nothing but a good cold beer will do it justice.

(ok, also, if I made a bad call on what I served it with -- a better pick for round 2)

Served with: Cocktail; Wine; Beer

Overall Grade: New Favorite!; It was OK; Serve to Unwelcome Guests; Even the dog won't eat it