Those who have the combined heritage of the Upper Midwest, especially if you cooked homemade meals, have vivid memories of Glorified Rice.
The recipe was simple and inexpensive to make and used few ingredients. Foolproof and delicious, the cold dessert or fruit salad became so popular, it appeared in cookbooks put out by women's groups and local newspapers. It was passed on to family and friends, to kids and their kids.
If you do a quick Google search, you'll find almost 94,000 results! The recipes vary only slightly and the instructions are too brief for newbie chefs.
Since the classic recipe uses lemon gelatin, whipped cream and crushed pineapple, it's perfect for your Easter dinner or buffet and is sure to evoke memories, curiosity and conversation.
Easter Table Glorified Rice
1 cup uncooked rice (3 cups cooked)
1 teaspoon salt
1 3-ounce package of lemon or orange
gelatin
1 13 and 1/2-ounce can of crushed pineapple in juice
1 12 cups whipped cream
1 cup sugar (or 8-ounces Cool Whip and no sugar)
Boil rice with the salt until well done. Rinse, drain well and cool. Make lemon Jell-O, using only 1 cup boiling water.
Drain pineapple and add enough water to the juice to make a second cup of liquid. Add the juice mixture to Jell-O; refrigerate until almost set.
Whip cream, adding the 1 cup sugar (or use Cool Whip, defrosted); fold into rice mixture.
Beat the set Jell-O with a whisk or hand beater; fold it into rice and cream. Add crushed pineapple; refrigerate dessert (or fruit salad) until set.
Serve in a colorful bowl or individual sherbet dishes, and top with a few maraschino cherries.
Serves 8 to 10.