In an effort to get more than a half hour's wear out of Ruby's clown costume (why did I spend countless hours sewing a costume for a toddler?) I hauled her down to Aaron's office today for his company's Halloween potluck lunch. While that in itself isn't really worth writing about, I've got to tell you about the dessert I made for the occasion. The official name of the dish is "Joanne's Dessert" (who Joanne is I'll never know), but in my family it's known as Grandma Ruby's Green Dessert. In reality, it's kind of a pistachio pudding pie.
Every year my Grandma Ruby makes two pans of this stuff for my parents' annual Boxing Day party, which is attended by about 60 of my relatives. We all love it. We wait for it. We take a serving along side our ham, just in case there's none left when we go back for dessert (this actually happened to me once when my cousin Cathy cut the squares too big). It's delicious. After my Grandma got hip surgery she wasn't up to making it last year, so I stepped in and whipped up a double batch. I was really excited about it because I got to use her special Green Dessert pans, which are metal and have a lid that slides in, making them really great for desserts that need to go in the fridge for a couple of days.
Below is the recipe for Joanne's Dessert, a.k.a. Grandma Ruby's Green Dessert. It's one of those great mid-century recipes that will cause any organic chef to recoil in horror -- basically a step above dump cake -- but I love it. If you make it and love it, let me know -- I'll pass it on to Grandma Ruby.
Joanne's Dessert
1st Layer
1 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine (I couldn't do it, so I subbed with softened butter)
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
Press into 6 by 12 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool.
2nd Layer
2/3 cup icing sugar
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 large container cool whip (I believe it's the 12 oz size)
Mix together until creamy. Spread over crust
3rd Layer
2 pkges pistachio instant pudding
2 1/2 cups cold milk
Beat. Spread over cheese layer and refridgerate for 20 minutes
4th Layer
Spread remaining 1/2 container of cool whip over pudding. Sprinkle almonds slivers on top. Refrigerate. Enjoy!
4 comments:
Oh my gosh, this looks *so* yummy, I'm seriously drooling all over here! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe - I'll make sure to try it out soon and will let you know what I thought of it then. But I know that already: Delicious!
i need to make this. seriously. i LOVE pistachio pudding.
My granny told me about this a few weeks ago and I was horrified! Haha! It's like one of those weird 50's dishes that if you'd never had it before (like myself) and read the recipe for the first time, would be considered an epicurean abomination!
Of course, like yourself, Granny testifies to it's deliciousness. Me, I'm skeptical, though we do have that lovely pistachio pudding for dessert at least once a week!
I am making this recipe this weekend. I was given my recipe by a women I worked with in Roseville, MI and her name was Ruby. Please email me at bonniesaxton@comcast.net if this is the same Ruby
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