WW Wednesday: Fishy Retro Guest Blog by Mimi

Miss Mimi at 1972 Retro Weight Watchers Experiment is in the kitschen today! You're going to get the giggles. And a workout for your gag reflex...

As a 21st century girl following the 1972 Weight Watchers program in order to get back into my "skinny jeans", I don't get many potluck party invitations. For some reason, most people think my Retro WW recipes are scary and disgusting. So when Heidi invited me over to kitschenfeast for a special guest post, I feverishly dug through my Retro WW recipe collection, trying to find the perfect dish to bring. It had to be fabulous. It had to be fancy.

It had to be a giant fish mold.

The Mousse of Salmon (1974 Weight Watchers Recipe Cards - Convenience Fish Category) is one of those dishes that embodies all things Retro WW. It contains ALL of the usual suspects:

• knox gelatine
• evaporated skim milk
• celery
• dehydrated onion flakes
• pimento
• mayonnaise
• salmon (of course)

I got started working on my Mousse of Salmon very early in the morning, because I wanted to give myself plenty of time. You see, as my friend Heidi can tell you, constructing a gelatine mold is an art form. A labor of love. And timing is EVERYTHING.I will spare you all the gory details, but this recipe involved partially freezing 1/2 cup of evaporated skim milk; while dissolving the gelatine in boiling water; while whisking lemon juice, onion flakes, Worcestershire, and vinegar into mayonnaise; then whipping the partially frozen milk into submission; and finally folding it all together with the celery and salmon -- all before the gelatine starts to congeal.

I'm not gonna lie to you: it is stressful. But once the entire mixture is safely in the mold, you can simply pop it in the fridge and go about your business. Tra-la-la.
That is, of course, until it is time to UNMOLD. My heart always flutters a bit at the moment of un-molding. Maybe it's the fear of failure or the anticipation of greatness. I don't know. But it is all very exciting and a bit nauseating at the same time.

So here it is: the finished product! It's shiny, it's smelly and it's even figure-friendly. In fact, I think I've grown a bit attached to the little guy.
Thank you, Heidi, for letting me pop in on you today. You are a most delightful hostess and a one-of-a-kind gal! And many thanks to the fabulous kitschenfeast followers for reading my guest post... enjoy the Salmon Mousse and be sure to stop by and see me over at the 1972 Retro WW Experiment for more dietetic disasters. Until then-- may all your molds be scrumptious and all your jeans be skinny!