Pat's Shrimp Delight Mold

It’s still a little warm for extended cooking. So here’s another cold appetizer. Like the cowboy caviar I discussed recently, it can be made into a meal in a pinch.

The recipe came from an old friend of my family. Pat’s mother Dusty was my grandfather’s secretary for decades and a fixture at gatherings of our clan. We loved her for her good nature, her competence, and her sense of humor.

Pat is also a darling--and a good cook, too!

The mold comes from the era in which molded food was one of the queens of American kitchens. I think of it as a 1950s recipe, although it could date from earlier. I’ve seen versions of it with chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and even lemon flavored gelatin.

Next time I make it I think I’ll throw in a little lemon juice and maybe some dill. It’s pretty tasty as it is, however. The canned soup and the gelatin may startle you, but honestly I’ve never served it to a guest who didn’t ask for seconds.

Ingredients:

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
8 ounces cream cheese
1 package (1/4 ounce) gelatin
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery or cucumber (or a mixture)
1 pound cooked shrimp (canned if necessary, as it was for me recently since I couldn’t get to the big city to shop!), cut up
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Instructions:

Melt the soup and cream cheese together in a large saucepan. While they are heating, dissolve the gelatin in the water.

Turn off the heat under the soup/cheese mixture and stir in the gelatin and the remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased mold and chill at least a day. Unmold carefully! (You may always just put it in a pretty bowl if molding daunts you.) Serve with buttery crackers such as Ritz. Serves 12.