Hey Tropical Dream Jelly Shot - Jimmy Buffet called . . . he wants his shirt back!
(Or perhaps it was Warren Buffett. Oh, fiddlesticks - whats the difference . . . )
We were pleased as PUNCH (Hawaiian punch, that is . . . ) when Intern Tracy and Intern Amy stopped by the Test Kitchen on their cross country voyage (you can follow their trip on their blog 98squarefeet)! After a bit of arm twisting, they agreed to collaborate on a jelly shot with me. In their defense, the heat index was 100+ and it was difficult to contemplate doing ANYTHING.
We elected to choose a tropical drink as the basis for our jelly shot (all the better to use Malibu Rum - Intern Amy's favorite), however deconstructed it into layers to allow for a little visual mojo-tasticity, JSTK style. Slight modification of the floral technique used in the Grape Ape Jelly Shot resulted in a 3-hued pattern that resembles a Hawaiian print - quite appropriate considering the festive Caribbean vibe of this jelly shot's cocktail inspiration!
So what's it like being an Intern? Here are a few photos from the Interns' day at the Test Kitchen:
Bright and shiny Interns Amy and Tracy reporting for duty!
(Aren't they cute in their aprons?)
The flower shapes . . .
Carefully floating the flower shapes in the Malibu gelatin solution . . .
Suddenly, an inter-Intern dispute broke out . . . my money's on Intern Amy - she's small but super feisty!
Hope you enjoy Tropical Dream Jelly Shots! And thanks a million to Intern Tracy and Intern Amy for their hard work and creativity . . Happy Trails - I miss you both already and can't wait to follow your adventures on 98squarefeet!
XO Michelle
P.S. I'm writing this post script less than a year after the original post. Dear Interns Tracy and Amy, your sleazy cheat of a brother files for divorce from me and you're disavowing the help and support provided by JSTK to your own little jelly shot venture? You lifted JSTK intellectual property straight out of the book and blog. I could say something pithy, like 'sharper than a serpent's tooth are the slights of former interns.' But really, it's not wounding, just kinda pathetic and sad on your part. (JSTK readers, check out the article. Recognize anything?) First, f*ck your plagiarist asses, secondly, good luck, girls. Keep in mind also, JSTK enforces on copyright and trademark infringement, bitchez. Peace the f*ck out.
Tropical Dream Jelly Shot
Yellow Layer
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1 envelope plain Knox gelatin
Pour juice into a small saucepan. Sprinkle with gelatin and allow to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. Pour into a standard 1 lb glass or non-reactive metal loaf pan and refrigerate until fully set (an hour or two).
Blue Layer
- 2/3 cup pineapple juice
- 1 envelope plain Knox gelatin
- 1/3 cup blue curacao
Pour juice into a small saucepan. Sprinkle with gelatin and allow to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in the blue curacao. Pour into a standard 1 lb glass or non-reactive metal loaf pan and refrigerate until fully set (an hour or two). Prepare Red layer.
Red layer
- 1 ½ cups cranberry juice
- 4 envelopes plain Knox gelatin
- 1 1/2 cups Malibu rum
- 2 tbsp grenadine
Pour the juice into a small saucepan. Sprinkle with gelatin and allow to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in the rum and grenadine, and pour mixture into a 9” x 9” glass or non-reactive metal pan. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove the pans with the set blue and yellow layers from the refrigerator. Cut out desired shapes with small cookie cutters. (I used a small flower shape, and cut the centers out with a clover – both the flowers and the clovers were used for the design.) Gently float the cut shapes into the red gelatin mixture, and refrigerate until fully set (ideally overnight, to allow the layers to fully bond). Don’t worry if some of the shapes sink into the gelatin - this will give your “Hawaiian print” a 3-D quality!
To serve, cut into desired shapes. Makes approximately 32 jelly shots.
