We always made this to take to Family Night suppers at church. Its official name was Congealed Fruit Salad, but it was known at our house as pink salad, because, well, it’s pink! Besides, anything with the word congealed in the title just sounds gross to me, and this is anything but.

　　

Ingredients

serves 8

　　1 cup boiling water

　　1 3-ounce package strawberry-flavored gelatin

　　1 3-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

　　1 15-ounce can crushed unsweetened pineapple, drained

　　2 ripe but firm bananas, peeled and diced

　　1 6–ounce jar maraschino cherries with juice, stems removed

　　1/2 cup chopped pecans

　　1 cup heavy cream

　　

Step 1

Pour the boiling water into a large mixing bowl. Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Blend in the cream cheese, stirring until it is thoroughly mixed and the gelatin is completely dissolved. Cool in the refrigerator until the mixture thickens but is not fully gelled, about 45 minutes. Add the pineapple, bananas, cherries, and nuts, and mix gently.

　　

Step 2

In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer or whisk to beat the cream until stiff. Gently fold the whipped cream into the thickened gelatin mixture, and pour into a 6 × 9 × 2-inch dish. Refrigerate overnight, or until firm.

　　

From Gwen

Step 3

Substituting orange-flavored gelatin gives this salad a soft, appealing peach color.

　　Reprinted with permission from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours by Trisha Yearwood with Gwen Yearwood and Beth Yearwood Bernard. Copyright © 2008 by Trisha Yearwood. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Trisha Yearwood is a three-time Grammy-award winning country music star and the author of the bestselling cookbook Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. She is married to megastar Garth Brooks.