Friday, April 19, 2024
Nancy Pricer
THIS COMMUNITY COOKS
A resident of Hood County since 1989, Nancy Pricer enjoys sharing recipes with backstories. Send your favorite recipes and brief story about them to npricer@hcnews.com
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“The 70s, and we want two desserts back.”
Well, they can’t have them back. I want them, and I’m not sharing.
My boss, Sam, started a conversation the other day about trends from 20 to 30 years ago. That made me start thinking about food trends. I have a sweet tooth, so I naturally started thinking about retro desserts.
Jell-O recipies came to mind at first, but then my thoughts moved on to a few retro recipes I came across recently with instant pistachio pudding mix. Jell-O instant pistachio pudding came out in the mid-1970s when I was a huge fan of pistachios. That was when pistachios were still dyed red.
In the early 80s I started making what I call Pistachio Fluff. Some call it Watergate Salad, Green Fluff and various other names along with various versions. The recipe below is my favorite one I’ve been making for years.
The Pistachio Lush recipe was recently sent by an old high school friend whose mom used to make it when we were in school. My friends’ moms were all good cooks and we were all fed very well.
Pistachio Lush
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup butter, melted
¼ cup white sugar
16-ounce container Cool Whip
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 small boxes instant pistachio pudding mix
3 cups milk
¼ cup chopped nuts
Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and white sugar. Press onto bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
Combine 2 cups Cool Whip, cream cheese and powdered sugar. Mix well and spread over cooled crust.
Combine pudding mix and milk. Wisk well and let sit 5-10 minutes to thicken. Spread over previous layer.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Before serving, top with remaining Cool Whip and chopped nuts.
Pistachio Fluff
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 large bananas, sliced
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (15.25 ounce) can fruit cocktail, drained
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
¾ cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)
In large bowl, mix instant pudding and undrained pineapple. Add thawed whipped topping. Stir in marshmallows, fruit cocktail, and mandarin oranges. Cover, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Top with pecans before serving if desired.
