Is this the most beautiful dish I’ve ever made on here? It all depends on how you feel about our old friend Jello. Honestly, I’m coming around to the idea of delicious gelatin-based recipes. At the very least, creators like @adventuresinjelly and others have shown that it can be beautifully assembled and photographed. So…how about this one?

Representative Lawrence Smith — Chef Lawrence Smith

Democratic Representative from Wisconsin

As always, I followed the recipe word for word directly from the representative who died just three years after this recipe was published (RIJ; rest in Jello), no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

1 package raspberry Jello

1 cup boiling water

2 cups applesauce

Dressing:

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1 cup whipped cream

4 tbsp Marzetti dressing

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Dissolve Jello in boiling water.

2) When cold, add applesauce and put in mold in refrigerator.

You want to wait until the Jello begins to coagulate — sticking slightly to the sides — before you add the applesauce.

3) Dressing: fold celery, nuts and Marzetti dressing into whipped cream. Serves 8.

Marzetti dressing was something I had to look up — it’s a brand, BUT, it was originally just one flavor: something called slaw dressing. It tastes a bit like Ranch and is basically a mayonnaise-based cole slaw in salad dressing form.

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the CwC Instagram or TikTok. I stand by it — it’s quite possibly the prettiest Jello dish I’ve ever made, even if it’s vaguely blood-like. The longer I stared at the dish, the more I questioned whether it was beautiful or awful. Does it appear as though someone dropped a used Kleenex in the middle? Or is it perfectly whipped cream with Ranch? Hard to tell. Either way, it’s flagrantly and fragrantly raspberry, and the “dressing” is fluffy, not drizzly.

Verdict:

The texture could be divisive — it’s got graininess from the applesauce — but I like it. I even like the crunch from the pecans and the celery. I do not like the Ranch-dressing flavor left on my tongue at the end. It lingers, it overpowers, and it upsets. Skip the “dressing” and we can talk.