Layered Christmas Jello Salad

Christmas Eve tomorrow. Fifty years ago tomorrow night, Bernice Simms went into labor during the Christmas Eve service at Sixteenth Street AME in Bessemer and delivered me three hours into Christmas Day, 1969. Fifty years ago. The woman who was in labor fifty years ago—who sat in the Christmas Eve service with her husband Willie James beside her, who felt the first contractions during the choir's third verse of "O Holy Night" and did not leave her seat until the service was over because Bernice Simms did not disrupt a worship service—that woman is in a nursing home in Bessemer right now, eighty-two years old, not always sure of who I am. And I am in this kitchen fifty years later, making the food she taught me, feeding the church she built, carrying the knowledge that is hers in my hands. Fifty years ago and right now, both at once. That's what a birthday is. That's what a life is.

CJ arrived Christmas Eve afternoon, earlier than expected—he got the project done, the deadline moved, and he drove straight down from Huntsville and arrived at four o'clock with a box of pralines from a candy shop in Huntsville and his father's relief writ plain on Calvin's face. Destiny drove over at five. The house was full of the people I love in the kitchen warmth of December.

I cooked all day. The Christmas morning mac and cheese, the greens that started yesterday and will be perfect by noon tomorrow, the cornbread dressing already assembled in its pan, the sweet potato pie from Tuesday, the pound cake. I set Marcus's place with the white candle. I set a place for Bernice too, this year—a small plate, a fork, a glass of water, because Bernice is still here and she should be at the table. The water instead of sweet tea because she's not all the way here. But present. Present enough for a place at the table. Present enough.

Every dish on my Christmas table has a reason it’s there—the greens because Bernice taught me, the dressing because it was Marcus’s favorite, the pound cake because some things don’t change. This year I wanted something for the table that looked the way the day felt: layered, bright, red and green, carrying more than one thing at once. The Layered Christmas Jello Salad is that dish for me—it looks like celebration and it sets easy, and when CJ and Destiny and Calvin all sat down and saw it alongside everything else, it held its own. Bernice’s place had a small plate and a glass of water; this went right next to it, cheerful and unhurried, the way a holiday table should be.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 box (3 oz) strawberry or cherry gelatin
1 box (3 oz) lime gelatin
1 box (3 oz) lemon gelatin
3 cups boiling water, divided
3 cups cold water, divided
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup whipped topping or heavy cream, whipped
1/2 cup mayonnaise (optional, for creamier middle layer)
Cooking spray for pan

Instructions

Prepare the red layer. Dissolve strawberry or cherry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water, stirring for 2 minutes until fully dissolved. Stir in 1 cup cold water. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13-inch dish. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Make the creamy middle layer. Beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Mix in drained or undrained crushed pineapple and whipped topping (and mayonnaise if using). Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup boiling water, let cool for 10 minutes, then blend into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Once the red layer is fully set, gently pour or spoon the cream layer over it. Return to refrigerator and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
Prepare the green layer. Dissolve lime gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Stir in 1 cup cold water and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Once the cream layer is firm, carefully pour the cooled lime gelatin over the top.
Chill until fully set. Refrigerate the assembled salad for at least 2 hours or overnight until all layers are completely firm and sliceable.
Serve. Cut into squares and serve cold directly from the pan, or unmold onto a platter for presentation. Garnish with a small dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Layered Christmas Jello Salad — A Spot at the Table for Everyone We Love