and the winner is…

wow! you guys blew me away with your entries! a ton of you commented, but there can be only one winner, and using a random number generator, that winner was chosen. congratulations…

jan!

i’ll be emailing you today so you can get your hands on a brand new cookbook. on top of winning, jan left one of my favorite comments:

“This was clearly the 60s going with a circular decorative motif. Remember peace, love and joy?

3. Representing PEACE: tomato aspic with cream of chicken layer on a bed of lettuce, proving that we can all live in peace no matter what we’re made of…especially if we’re able to overlook those sharp black things on the sides.

2. Representing LOVE: Delightful satsuma pie; a citrisy blend of fresh juice with sections of fruit and almonds on top of a delicate layer of sour cream. Who doesn’t love citris?

3. Representing JOY: An old stand-by favorite of chili beans and biscuits in a savory sauce. The joys of one-pot cooking.”

by the way, you can read jan’s cooking exploits at http://www.atinylittleripple.blogspot.com.

so what were those mystery dishes? find out (and get the recipes!) below:

dish #1: hungry boys casserole

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 lb lean ground bef
1 can (1 lb) pork and beans
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 cup pillsbury all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp oil
4 drops yellow food coloring

1. casserole: sprinkle celery, onion and green pepper in bottom of 8-inch baking dish. crumble ground beef on top. bake uncovered at 425 F for 20 minutes. remove from oven. stir in pork and beans, catsup, water, salt and garlic salt until well blended. reserve 1/2 cup of bean-meat mixture.

2. return casserole to oven for 10 minutes while preparing biscuits. biscuits: combine flour, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl. combine milk, oil and food coloring. add to dry ingredients all at once stirring until dough clings together. knead on floured surface 8 times. roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. cut with doughnut cutter, saving holes.

3. arrange biscuits without centers on casserole. spoon reserved bean-meat filling in hole of each biscuit. top with the biscuit holes. bake at 425 F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

dish #2: avocado lime pie

1 large ripe avocado
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
grated rind of 1 lime
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 egg yolks
dash of salt
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
avocado for garnish
chopped nuts

1. mash avocado well. combine with sweetened condensed milk, lime rind, lime juice, well beaten egg yolks, and salt. stir until mixture is thickened. fold in avocado.

2. turn into baked pastry shell and chill for several hours. garnish with avocado balls (cut avocado in half and scoop out balls with melon cutter. cover with fresh lemon juice). sprinkle with chopped nuts.

dish #3: tomato aspic with vegetables (i know it looks like there might be chicken in there)

3 1/2 cups tomato juice
1 celery stalk, cut up
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lemon, cut
1 tsp ground basil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
dash of cayenne
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cider vinegar

1. combine tomato juice with vegetables and seasonings. cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. strain. add gelatin softened in vinegar and stir until dissolved. pour into mold and refrigerate until firm.

2. if vegetables, fish or meat are to be added, chill until aspic is of the consistency of unbeaten egg white; fold in vegetbales, fish or meat and pour into a lightly oiled mold. chill until firm.

to sum up:
despite the confusing and revolting pictures, two of you actually got the answers right!

• Joanne
• Patti

and some comments that made me laugh:

• “Looks a lot like the “gruel” my boyfriend likes to make except his is never so artfully presented.”
• ““Blow Your Biscuits Chili” – So hot it will blow your biscuits off! (also serve with many margaritas)!”
• “Mystery Molded Jell-O from “Hell”-O (Meat?!?! OMG!)”
• “alien eyes melon scoop pie with sliced almonds”
• “Picture Number 3 is an edible version of the Taj Mahal. Innumerable samples of vegan nutrition have been attempted to be artfully and simultaneously ensconced in a jello salad molded under heavy influence by the discotheque era.”
• “I’m pretty sure that pie is actually the thing that Calvin used to fight: http://hem.passagen.se/rust29/images/HOBBE/AN_FOOD.GIF“
• “#3 A cousin of that fanged worm creature from King Kong: http://www.moviedeaths.com/king_kong/lumpy/“

thank you to everyone for entering! it’s exciting to see that so many of you have blogs of your own (many of which i’ll be following from now on). and if you didn’t win this round, i’ll be doing more giveaways, so stay tuned!