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[scatman]

Amateurs …

Circus Peanut Salad
A bright orange jiggly salad complete with whipped topping, crushed pineapple, jello, and 32 circus peanuts.
4.75 from 4 votes
Print Recipe
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PREP TIME
30 mins
COOK TIME
0 mins
CHILL TIME
4 hrs
TOTAL TIME
4 hrs 30 mins
COURSE
Appetizer, Dessert, pot luck, Salad, Side Dish
CUISINE
American, Southern
SERVINGS
12 people
CALORIES
200 kcal
Equipment
greased 13" X 9" baking pan
2 large mixing bowls

Ingredients

44 circus peanuts 32 for the salad, 12 for the top
1/4 cup hot water
6 oz orange gelatin I used 2 – 3 oz packets
3/4 cup boiling water
1 container whipped topping 8 oz
16 oz crushed pineapple I used 2 – 8 oz cans

Instructions

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine 32 roughly chopped Circus Peanuts and 1/4 cup of hot water. Microwave for one minute and stir until melted and smooth.
Dissolve orange gelatin into 3/4 cup of boiling water and then pour into melted candy mixture, stirring until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine crushed pineapple with whipped topping. Fold until evenly distributed.
Fold the whipped pineapple mixture into the melted candy mixture.
Pour into a greased 13" X 9" baking dish. Chill until firm. (~ 4 hours)
Top with 12 extra Circus Peanuts, one for each square if cut.

Notes

Once chilled, your circus peanut salad will have separated into layers with the bottom layer having more of the crushed pineapple, and the top more foamy.

@TractorDoc will have a difficult time backpacking this in for us. He's a creative guy though, so I'm sure he'll figure something out.

 

[TractorDoc]

Time kept by the laws of the jungle, and it's HIGH NOON and almost too late

I'm the last person that wants to change the topic when it comes to Circus Peanut Recipes, but I have to ask if that is one of those clocks that emits the animal's voice/sound at the corresponding hour? I'm sure I'd get used to it, but initially I'd be a bit rattled by the roar of a lion at midnight or the grunting of a gorilla at three AM.

I seem to remember you (Hugh) having one of those clocks with birds on it.

@scatman always has interesting "background noise" in his domestic photographs.

 

[TractorDoc]

Equipment
greased 13" X 9" baking pan
2 large mixing bowls

Standard stuff that gets packed in for most trips.

Will we need a heavy spoon to accomplish the mixing? I have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[scatman]

I'm the last person that wants to change the topic when it comes to Circus Peanut Recipes, but I have to ask if that is one of those clocks that emits the animal's voice/sound at the corresponding hour? I'm sure I'd get used to it, but initially I'd be a bit rattled by the roar of a lion at midnight or the grunting of a gorilla at three AM.

I seem to remember you (Hugh) having one of those clocks with birds on it.

@scatman always has interesting "background noise" in his domestic photographs.

Yes, it emits the sound of the animal on the hour, but it doesn't go off when it is dark thank God. And you have a good memory, we still have the bird clock.

 

[scatman]

Standard stuff that gets packed in for most trips.

Will we need a heavy spoon to accomplish the mixing? I have to draw the line somewhere.

Only if someone else carries the Precious........ I mean heavy spoon.

 

[Bob]

Yes, it emits the sound of the animal on the hour, but it doesn't go off when it is dark thank God. And you have a good memory, we still have the bird clock.

We had one years ago ........ after a couple of days we disabled it, drove us nuts

 

[scatman]

We had one years ago ........ after a couple of days we disabled it, drove us nuts

Turn it back on @Bob, you need to be one with nature.

 

[Bob]

Turn it back on @Bob, you need to be one with nature.

I think it accidently fell under a tire when we moved

 

[CajunPoncho]

I'm the last person that wants to change the topic when it comes to Circus Peanut Recipes, but I have to ask if that is one of those clocks that emits the animal's voice/sound at the corresponding hour? I'm sure I'd get used to it, but initially I'd be a bit rattled by the roar of a lion at midnight or the grunting of a gorilla at three AM.

I seem to remember you (Hugh) having one of those clocks with birds on it.

@scatman always has interesting "background noise" in his domestic photographs.

@scatman @TractorDoc i woke up thinking …. Hey I haven’t read anything on the Backcountry page …. And I also woke up singing this song….

Geaux get ‘em!

 

[scatman]

@scatman @TractorDoc i woke up thinking …. Hey I haven’t read anything on the Backcountry page …. And I also woke up singing this song….

Geaux get ‘em!

Love it! You didn't happen to come across this video at Harvey's did you?

 

[Bob]

That must be from the lost archives ................. should have stayed lost.

 

[Ugly]

How about Ham and Pea Alfredo?
A good way to trick the kids into eating peas (my kids call them green boba balls)

I am no good at measurements, so nothing precise here...
You just need:
A couple pats of butter
minced garlic clove or two
cubed ham
frozen peas
Italian seasoning
Heavy Cream and some Milk
Cheap or expensive Parm cheese
Shredded italian cheese mix
chopped Basil (if you like, and I like)
salt and pepper
Pasta- Farfale in this recipe

Get the pasta water boiling, and then add your pasta. After 3 minutes, start the rest of this and the sauce will finish with the pasta.

In a saucepan, cook the ham and garlic in the butter until the ham starts to brown
Sprinkle on Italian herbs
Add in the frozen peas and 1/4 C of the boiling pasta water
Treat the peas delicate and stir a little until the water is mostly gone, the peas should not get mushy, but are no longer frozen
Put the peas and ham on a plate and set aside

(No need for a roux of butter and flour, the cheese and heavy cream will do the thickening. You can do a true bechamel, but that is just more work and too much haughtiness for my kids...)
In the now empty sauce pan, do not rinse, and just pour in a cup or so of heavy cream on medium high heat, before it boils, turn it down below medium
The whole time you want the sauce to simmer at most, not boil

Add in some amount of parmesan cheese and some black pepper
Stir and get out the clumps
Add in a handful of the Italian cheeses and stir constantly until melted
Add cheese until desired thickness. in the one picture it is TOO thick!
Add in milk or even pasta water to thin it out

Add back in the peas and ham, turn off the heat and stir gently
You can add basil now, and salt and pepper to taste
Strain your pasta, rinse, put the pasta in a bowl and pour over the ham and pea alfredo sauce
Sprinkle with more cheese
(I worked at two cheese factories in Cache Valley, so cheese became a staple when we could get all sorts of cheese for $.25 a lb - and that was in 2004, not 1980)

 

[scatman]

How about Ham and Pea Alfredo?
A good way to trick the kids into eating peas (my kids call them green boba balls)

I am no good at measurements, so nothing precise here...
You just need:
A couple pats of butter
minced garlic clove or two
cubed ham
frozen peas
Italian seasoning
Heavy Cream and some Milk
Cheap or expensive Parm cheese
Shredded italian cheese mix
chopped Basil (if you like, and I like)
salt and pepper
Pasta- Farfale in this recipe

Get the pasta water boiling, and then add your pasta. After 3 minutes, start the rest of this and the sauce will finish with the pasta.

In a saucepan, cook the ham and garlic in the butter until the ham starts to brown
Sprinkle on Italian herbs
Add in the frozen peas and 1/4 C of the boiling pasta water
Treat the peas delicate and stir a little until the water is mostly gone, the peas should not get mushy, but are no longer frozen
Put the peas and ham on a plate and set aside

(No need for a roux of butter and flour, the cheese and heavy cream will do the thickening. You can do a true bechamel, but that is just more work and too much haughtiness for my kids...)
In the now empty sauce pan, do not rinse, and just pour in a cup or so of heavy cream on medium high heat, before it boils, turn it down below medium
The whole time you want the sauce to simmer at most, not boil

Add in some amount of parmesan cheese and some black pepper
Stir and get out the clumps
Add in a handful of the Italian cheeses and stir constantly until melted
Add cheese until desired thickness. in the one picture it is TOO thick!
Add in milk or even pasta water to thin it out

Add back in the peas and ham, turn off the heat and stir gently
You can add basil now, and salt and pepper to taste
Strain your pasta, rinse, put the pasta in a bowl and pour over the ham and pea alfredo sauce
Sprinkle with more cheese
(I worked at two cheese factories in Cache Valley, so cheese became a staple when we could get all sorts of cheese for $.25 a lb - and that was in 2004, not 1980)

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Is it okay if I use the term Boba Balls too?

I'm not a big pea fan either, but this does look good. I may have to give it a go.

Do your kids give it two thumbs up?

 

[Ugly]

Is it okay if I use the term Boba Balls too?

I'm not a big pea fan either, but this does look good. I may have to give it a go.

Do your kids give it two thumbs up?

Sure, anything to make vegetables as palatable as possible.

Canned peas= disgusting... fresh or frozen= fabulous.
My kids are picky, and they still like this. I have to go light on the garlic for them.

 

[SteveR]

We make a version of that, substituting canned salmon for the ham.

 

[scatman]

After snowshoeing yesterday afternoon, Sheila and I headed to the Basque Dinner/Dance to partake in some wonderful food, and watch some native dancers.


Our 19th year of attending


The table center pieces are always interesting


Some native dancers to greet folks as they arrive


Up for silent auction


First up is a potato leak soup, which is to die for, and a roll. The Scat put down three bowls of this. Looks like someone has finished
off a glass of the house wine.


Best potato leak soup ever! Notice the chorizo at the top of the heaping spoonful? Yum! I should
have dusted off the heavy spoon for this one.


And if three bowls aren't enough. @TractorDoc, we may need to take a container full of this
soup on our trip in August. It will be just the right thing to get us up and over Majo Pass! We can
add it to your load. I hope you've been practicing the counterbalance method this past week.


A lovely dinner salad is next up


And then the main course which consisted of lamb with roasted red peppers, green beans with olives, a rice dish that contained shrimp, chorizo, and chicken, and a roll. Looks like somebody has gotten some more house wine.

While eating the main course, everyone is treated to the native Basque dancers who preform dances from various regions of the Basque Country.







And to top the night off, I won a tent!


The centerpiece looks impressed.

Also @Bob, I've made arrangements with the sheep herders to rescue us from the Wyoming Range if we should get into some kind of trouble in the backcountry. It's all about networking.

 

[Rockskipper]

I'm surprised they didn't serve their famous Basque Circus Peanut Soup or Basque Circus Peanut Lamb Kabob, since the Basque were the inventors of the circus peanut (or so they claim). It's touted in much of their lore and legend (and dance), and growing up in NW Colorado sheep country, I've come across many a sheep wagon where one could smell the dEliCiOuS aroma of cooking circus peanuts wafting from inside. I think it may be the reason a lot of those old sheepherders had few or no teeth. For some reason, though, their dogs won't eat anything with that delicacy in it. I was actually bit by a sheepdog once while helping my uncle deliver a load of circus peanuts via muletrain to a sheep ranch up near the Wyoming border.

 

[scatman]

I'm surprised they didn't serve their famous Basque Circus Peanut Soup or Basque Circus Peanut Lamb Kabob, since the Basque were the inventors of the circus peanut (or so they claim). It's touted in much of their lore and legend (and dance), and growing up in NW Colorado sheep country, I've come across many a sheep wagon where one could smell the dEliCiOuS aroma of cooking circus peanuts wafting from inside. I think it may be the reason a lot of those old sheepherders had few or no teeth. For some reason, though, their dogs won't eat anything with that delicacy in it. I was actually bit by a sheepdog once while helping my uncle deliver a load of circus peanuts via muletrain to a sheep ranch up near the Wyoming border.

So what you are saying is that me and Bob need to be packing. Packing peanuts that is. Would this be to negotiate with the sheep herders? Will we be able to understand them if they have no teeth? Won't bringing circus peanuts into the Wyoming Range draw an inordinate number of grizzlies to the area that weren't there before? Could be lots of unintended consequences on this one Skipper.

 

[Rockskipper]

Word has it that the grizz on the Wyoming Range can smell a circus-peanut eater from 50 miles and go the opposite direction (that's why they're mostly further north).

 

[scatman]

Word has it that the grizz on the Wyoming Range can smell a circus-peanut eater from 50 miles and go the opposite direction (that's why they're mostly further north).

The question might be would @TractorDoc smell them back in Ohio and end up joining up somewhere along the way on this trip?