"Wine Jelly" by President George H.W. Bush

I can think of no better way to celebrate Presidents’ Day Week — the world’s most spectacular and precious holiday season — than by recreating a dish made by a former President of the United States. Some of you may have been barbecuing, drinking red, white and blue cocktails or playing a stirring round of presidential trivia in between viewings of Frost/Nixon and House of Cards. Regardless of HOW you celebrated, keep the fun going with a dessert from former Texas congressperson, Director of the CIA, Vice President, and yes, President, George Herbert Walker Bush: it’s Wine Jelly.

Chef George H.W. Bush

Republican President from Texas

Notable:

throwing up all over a Japanese dignitary; getting people to read his lips

Quotable:

“Boy, they were big on crematoriums, weren’t they?” —said while on a tour of Auschwitz”

As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp gelatin

½ cup cold water

1 ⅔ cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

1 cup cream sherry

⅔ cup orange juice, strained

3 tbsp lemon juice, strained

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Soak gelatin in cold water. 

You may notice a strong scent of dusted meat; this is completely normal when dealing with raw, unflavored gelatin. Power through.

2) Add boiling water to dissolve gelatin mixture. 

This is about as complicated as this recipe gets — it’s ridiculously easy! Adding ingredients one at a time (I did stir to dissolve the mixture here).

3) Add sugar, sherry, orange and lemon juices. Pour into ring mold and chill until firm.

If you don’t have a ring mold at home already, I highly recommend buying one. You’ll use it all the time for bundt cakes and molded jello masterpieces. I’ve seen shrimp, pineapple, hot dogs, mint — all suspended in jello. Don’t miss out on that creative art.

4) Turn out on a platter, fill center with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate leaves or serve with a pitcher of cream.

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the CwC Instagram or TikTok. Okay, I went with the “or” option, as I didn’t have chocolate leaves. But, I did have a pitcher of thick, wet cream to go alongside. Seems like the best thing to do is drizzle the cream onto the wine jelly, just as the late, great(?) George H.W. Bush surely did. The flavor combination of wine jelly + cream here is like having boozy, citrus-y ice cream, but much, much sweeter and with the texture of rendered fat. Very unique. And just look at that thick jiggle.

Verdict:

Unbelievable sugar levels. I’m not much for sweet wines, so mixing 10 packets of Splenda into a glass of Moscato then turning it into jello isn’t for me.

2024 UPDATE: I made it again and…I almost like it. Almost. And I also hate it. I never understood the concept of a “frenemy” until now.