Hard as it may be to believe, here we sit on the last weekend of July. If you live in the Western Hemisphere, chances are that you're contending with some mighty toasty temps at the moment, proceeding through the sweltering dog days of summer as we presently are, and are not in the mood to read through a hefty tome of a blog post this morning.
As such, I'm certainly not going to toss one your way, fear not. Instead we'll kick off this sparklingly sunny morn with a quick, fun, and - yes, I'll readily admit - quirky mid-century recipe for Tuna Fish Mold (not the most appealing of names, I know, surely Tuna Mousse would have been better!).
Being married to a man who is both a big seafood fan and, fittingly, an avid angler (who I occasionally accompany of fishing excursions, as in this post from last August), fish springs up on the menu at our house fairly often.
While I've never been quite as big of a seafood lover as my darling husband is (growing up, despite our parents doing so, interestingly neither myself nor my two siblings liked seafood; as we matured and hit adulthood though, we each came to like it to varying degrees), there are certain plucked-from-the-sea (or lake) ingredients that I've come to enjoy quite a bit.
Tuna, with it's relatively mild flavour is one of them. My personal feelings about jellied meats and seafood (as discussed in this year's St. Patrick's Day recipe post) haven't altered, but I'd venture to add that an occasional exception can be made, especially when the mercury is boiling and just about any cold dish suddenly holds the appeal of a winning lottery ticket.
{Love the bed of cucumbers, sliced green olive eyes, and cute little green pepper fins on this delightful 1950s tuna fish mousse mold. Image source (click through for a larger version).}
This recipe is nothing short of wholly mid-century in every regard. The ingredient list (gelatin, mayo, cream cheese, celery, ketchup, canned tuna!) almost reads like a who's who of the most commonly used foods from the fifties, and I know it definitely won't be for everyone. However, I know there are plenty of folks out there who do enjoy both seafood and molded dishes (alas! A use for that copper mold we all seem to have gathering dust on a wall or cupboard shelf somewhere), and for whom this recipe holds much appeal.
You could very easily play around with the ingredients here. Canned salmon, crab, shrimp,or turkey (perhaps changing the shape of the mold you opted for, if not using fish) would all work, as would (perhaps most appealing, if you ask me) cubes or flakes of cooked ham. Alternatively a vegetarian/meat-free version could be whipped up by replacing the tuna with one or more vegetables instead. I'm thinking chargrilled red peppers, sweet onions, and black olives, for a Mediterranean inspired take.
If you're still feeling anything but enthusiastic about the idea, skip the dinner route entirely and instead just use your favourite mold to whip up a cute Jell-O dessert to take to a picnic, camp out, summer bbq, or (best of all) beach party, where the fun shape is sure to make it a major summertime hit (especially if you happen to have any anglers, like Tony, at your table!).
