Gelology Tasting Party

Hello Gelophiles,

Last night, thirty people came over to my apartment for a  schmorgasboard of edible treats. I'm not quite sure how to spell smoorgasboord, and I'm too lazy to google it, and that's lazy. But it was a busy past forty-eight hours. Starting Friday I made over twelve different types of gelatins. Some layered, some fruit-filled, some gravity defying, but all delicious.

I'm working on a short video about gelatin shots for a class project. We thought it'd be fun to talk about people's perceptions of old school jello shots and then expose them to gourmet shots and record their reactions. It was also just a great excuse to invite people over to eat jello.

Over 300 pieces were made and within four hours, eight  remained. Not a bad consumption rate.

Here's a photo of one serving platter. Thanks to Corey for the shot of the shots.

I'll be posting pictures and recipes of the shots over the next few days. Right now, I need a break. Well, not much of a break because I am making more shots for tomorrow's Valentine's Day benefit for the Fort Point Channel Theater. Come check out the reading and get free Gelology shots with the price of your ticket!

Jello Performance Art

I just spent a lovely weekend up in Provincetown(aka Problemstown) with some friends. They have the most amazing house and in the front, surrounded by a fairy tale-like hedge fence is the most immaculate garden. The varieties of flowers is astounding. I was entranced by there the black Irises that became iridescent in the late afternoon sun.

On the first day, the weather was more murder mystery than sunny pre-summer day. The fog was thick and so heavy it felt like suspended raindrops. Well, er, I guess that's what fog IS, but you know. You can could actually feel the mist drops landing on you as you walked. I all but expected a zombie arm to come of it. Rodin and I took that time to go shopping for shot supplies. Normally the Stop n Shop in Ptown has the best assortment of Jello. But there were hardly any flavors. I guess they haven't geared up for the summer Jello glut yet. On the way back we stopped by the Police Station and applied for street performer licenses. All it takes is a valid Driver's License. And what do you know? ! We can now LEGALLY mime on the streets of Provincetown. Watch out world!

Ok, so the fog was making us crazy. But eventually it cleared and left us a sunny kitchen to make... you guessed it...... Gelatin Shots.

I was down to my last two boxes of watermelon gelatin. It is sooo delicious, but I'm not going to let a little thing like scarcity stop me from trying out a new recipe.

These shots were made from watermelon gelatin, tequila, peach schnapps, apple pucker, and cranberry juice.
It's a variation from a recipe found in "Party Shots" by Mittie Hellmich. It was the recipe book given to me by Michelle, my jello shot mentor. I call these "Shequila Shots" after the infamous tranny performer Shequita. Most known for performances on "America's Got Talent" but who also puts on an amazing show at the Barracuda in New York City.

I used the penis ice molds I found at Spencer's Gifts. After an hour in the freezer they were ready. Sean and I had a little fun using the macro function on his camera. Look how beautiful the pictures came out, and with the garden in the background. I would have to say these are the classiest photos of a penis gelatin shot anywhere on the whole wide web!

Look for us soon on the streets of Ptown doing Jello Performance Art. Interpret it as you will.

The Peachskate

The Peachskate

This recipe was created in honor of Mark Mitchell. A former U.S. figure skater who placed 4th in the World Figure Skating Championships in 1993.  He had a recent birthday party here in Boston, and was that good times. At one point the VJ played "Time of Your Life" and this cute little slip of a girl and I tried to recreate the final dance from the movie. It was meza meza until the time for the lift came. Now, I am not a big guy, but I hoisted this 90 pound woman right over my head- and luckily didn't drop her.

So here's the recipe 

3  3 oz. boxes of Peach gelatin mix

2 envelopes unflavored knox gelatin

3 cups Snapple Diet Raspberry Iced tea

2 1/2 cups Svedka Vodka

1/2 cup Limoncello liquer

Find a large mixing bowl and plastic spoon.  Prep the peach gelatin by removing the packets from the box and partially opening the bag. Keep upright. Fill the bowl with a quarter cup room temperature iced tea and sprinkle the contents of the knox envelopes over the tea. Let sit for two minutes Boil the iced in a pot or measure out in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave until boiling (apx 5 minutes).  Pour the hot tea into the bowl and dissolve the knox gelatin. Add the peach gelatin and continue to stir for two minutes.  Let the mixture cool to room temp. You can speed up by placing the bowl in the freezer for  5 minutes. 

Measure out the alcohol. I tend to pour the limoncello and then the vodka into the same measuring cup and then taste to see if I need more lemoncello. There should be a hint of it.

Add the alcohol into the jello mixture and stir for another two minutes.  Pour the mixture into to 9x12 pyrex dishes.  Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Or speed set by placing in the freezer for 15 minutes. Don't forget them in there!

To remove, cut using a knife or use cookie cutters. Remove with a spatula.