…Pairings! It is finally here! Thank you to all of our supporters, many of whom were readers of this blog.

We’ve been fortunate enough to be picked up by Koldcast TV to launch their new Food & Cooking Channel earlier this month. You can view Koldcast online, or you can download their app to you smart TV or smart box, such as the roku or boxee. We have already had over a half of a million views for our first 4 episodes! We’re so excited to share the show with you.

So without further ado, I bring you Pairings. (Don’t worry, if any of these episodes make you hungry, just hop over to the Pairings website to grab the recipe to make it for yourself!)

Episode 1, “Getting Saucy”

Episode 2, “The Risotto Solution”

Episode 3, “A Mass of Madeleines”

Episode 4. “Bittersweet”

———–

For some reason, people regularly assume that I am Jewish. It’s also often assumed that I am a New Yorker. The truth is I am neither. Born and raised in San Jose, California by two protestant parents. (Although I am a quarter German.)

Still, I find that our culinary history is rooted in cultural traditions. All great food owes it’s creation to the chef’s cultural influences.  For that reason, I try to make food from as many different cultural backgrounds as possible.

So, with today being Rosh Hashana, the  first day of the Jewish new year and the beginning of the high holidays, I wanted to take the opportunity to visit what I feel is one of the most overlooked influences on modern cuisine: Kosher cooking.

As an outsider looking in, I wasn’t exactly sure where to begin. I mean, I knew of certain stereotypical Kosher meals like Matzoh Ball soup, Bagels and Lox, and Challah Bread, but I had no idea what traditions there might be for Rosh Hashana. So I turned to my friends. I asked all of my Jewish friends what their families ate for Rosh Hashana. I also did some of my own research.

What I found out was that, while apples and honey are the traditional food to eat for Rosh Hashana to symbolize having a sweet year, there was no official traditional dinner. Everyone I asked said virtually the same thing, “I don’t remember there being anything traditional except honey and apples… but my mom always made brisket.”

So, brisket it is. It is always one of the cheapest cuts of meat at the supermarket, so it is easy to make at five dollars per person any time of the year. The trouble is, that it is a cheap cut for a reason. It is a tough flavorless cut, that is most commonly brined to make corned beef.

While it is most traditional to boil the brisket on the stove, I decided to braise it in the oven in beef broth and beer to pump up the flavor and keep the roast nice and moist. I used He’Brew Messiah Bold Ale by Scmaltz Brewing Co. to keep the meal kosher, but any nut brown ale will do. Reducing the pan juices into a gravy after removing the brisket really made the meal amazing. When I cook this again I will serve noodles topped with the gravy.

To make this meal as traditional for Rosh Hashanah as possible, though, I made Latkes as a side dish. The crispy onion potato cakes paired amazingly with the apples and honey for a great sweet and savory flavor.

Braised Beef Brisket

Dry Rub:

2 Tablespoons chili powder (or 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper)

2 Tablespoons salt

2 Tablespoons garlic powder

2 Tablespoons onion powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 bay leaves, crushed

Brisket and Gravy:

4 pound beef brisket, trimmed

approx. 1 cup beef stock

1 (12 oz.) dark brown beer

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

1. Mix the ingredients for the dry rub, adjusting flavors to taste. Rub brisket at least 1 hour prior to cooking and up to the morning of cooking.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. When heated brown the brisket on all sides. Once browned, roast the brisket, uncovered, for one hour.
4. After the first hour, remove the dutch oven from the oven (be careful! Use hot pads. I can’t count how often I forget to do this and burn myself) and lower the temperature to 300 degrees.
5. Add beer and beef stock to the bottom of the Dutch oven. There should be ½ inch of liquid in the bottom, so depending on your particular pot, you may need to increase or decrease the amount of beef stock.
6. After allowing the oven to cool to 300 degrees (about 10 minutes) return the Dutch oven to the oven, covered, and braise for 3 more hours.
7. After 3 hours, remove the Dutch oven. Remove the brisket and set aside on a plate covered by tin foil. Place the dutch oven on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. (Again, use hot pads! The Dutch oven handles will remain hot as you reduce the sauce.)
8. After the sauce has reduced by half. Add 2 Tablespoons chilled butter 1 Tablespoon at a time to help thicken the gravy.
9. After letting the brisket sit for 15 minutes, slice against the grain (the grain is the direction all of those lines in the beef are running) and serve, passing the gravy.

Potato Latkes

1 pound gold potatoes (2 really large potatoes, or 3 to 4 smaller potatoes)

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

thinly sliced apples and honey (optional)

1. Coarsely grate the potatoes, transferring them to a large bowl of cold water as grated to keep them from browning. After all the potatoes are grated drain them well in a colander.
2. Spread grated potatoes and onion on a paper towel and roll up. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt.
3. Heat olive oil pan over medium high heat until hot and shimmering. Working in batches of 4 latkes, spoon  about 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into the pan, spreading into 3-inch rounds. Fry latkes until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes.
4. Serve with thinly sliced apples and honey for dipping.  These are best when a bite of apple, latke and honey are eaten all together.

And I have no grill anymore. Oh, sure, I’ve ordered one for my new place with money I got for my birthday, but I was waiting for the online Labor Day sales when they clear out their grills until next summer. So while I wait for my new, more modest sized, grill to arrive, these sales on steak are pure torture.

If your grill-less like me this season you’re wanting to take advantage of these great prices on steak, but you don’t know if you can really get these grills to taste decent on your stove or oven at home. Sure, you can broil the steaks, getting them cooked to the proper temperature, but with little flavor and a bland rubbery exterior. Or you can cook them on the stove top to get the perfect sear on the beef, but end up with a dry steak that is either over or under cooked.

I’m here to let you in a little trick I learned recently. Do a little of both. There is one caveat, however, you need an oven safe pan or skillet. You’ll need this because this technique requires you to leave the pan inside of the oven while it preheats. This will bring the temperature of the pan up to searing heats. After 15 minutes in the oven, take the pan out (please, please use hot pads. You are so used to grabbing pans with your bare hands that it becomes instinct. If you grab this pan with a bare hand at any time during cooking you will lose skin. I have done it. Put the hot pad on your hand and leave it there, please.) Slap a well oiled piece of meat (the steak) onto the hot pan and allow it to sear for 30 seconds on both sides. Then you stick it back in the hot hot oven for 2 more minutes per side and, voila, perfectly done steaks. Now, go outside, smell the neighbors’ grills, pretend they are your own, and enjoy your off-the-grill steak as much as they enjoy their on-the-grill ones.

Steaks Without the Grill

2 steaks of your preference, 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch thick

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

2 teaspoons of your favorite fresh herb, such as rosemary, minced (or a Tablespoon of your favorite dry rub, such as Santa Maria tri-tip rub)

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with an oven safe pan or skillet inside for 15 minutes. Prepare the steaks by rubbing them with salt pepper, and minced rosemary (or other herb or dry rub) on each side and coating them in olive oil.

2. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven (leave the oven on) and put the frame on a medium heat. (Please see my earlier reminder to use hot pads.) Add the well oiled steak straight into the hot pan. Sear for 30 seconds per side.

3. Return the pan to the oven for 2 minutes.

4. After 2 minutes, flip, and cook another minute for rare, minute and a half for medium rare, and 2 minutes for medium. (If you want it more done than that, take your uncooked steak to someone who will appreciate it and go buy another cut of meat that survives being cooked well done. Pork, perhaps.)

5. Let the steak sit 2 minutes before serving, then enjoy.

But that doesn’t mean I get to opt out of cooking for the Labor Day potluck. I needed to figure out what will be appropriate summer fare that I can make without my grill. Of course, if I can’t grill, I wanted make a dish that would help everybody cool down. Which, of course, led me to watermelon. There is nothing quite so refreshing as water you can chew.

But, you know me, I didn’t want to just bring watermelon wedges. (Which are great all on their own.) I had to put a spin on it. Which reminded me of a treat I’ve made on hot film sets: Watermelon Feta Cups.

I got the idea while chatting with an Armenian friend over bites of watermelon. I told her that I enjoyed a little salt on my melon to bring out the sweetness and she told me, “you know what Armenians do? They eat it with feta.”

And, voila, the next day I was chopping a watermelon into squares, topping them with a little lemon juice, salt & pepper and, finally a clump of crumbled feta.

These little, easy to make, and affordable treats might get you a strange look at first, but once you get someone to eat one, I promise they will be gone in seconds.

Watermelon Feta Cups

You can also make a watermelon feta salad by using a melon-baller to scoop out the watermelon and tossing the above ingredients with mint. Or, if you can buy feta by the block, you can cut it into cubes the same size as the watermelon and serve them as skewers.

1 watermelon

16 oz crumbled feta cheese

1 Tbsp lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

1. Cut the sides of the watermelon to create a large cube of melon. The cut through each side of cube to produce a grid and then finish by cutting perpendicularly to the grid to create evenly sized watermelon cubes.
2. Using a spoon or small melon-baller, remove a tiny bit of watermelon in the top of each cube, creating the ‘cup.’
3. Fill each ‘cup’ with crumbled feta. Salt and pepper the cups and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve to guests as fingerfood. They can eat the entire cup in one bite.

If you order bruschetta in Italy, you will likely get toasted bread brushed with garlic infused olive oil. The menu will also have a list of toppings that might come on the bruschetta. Most commonly known outside of Italy, the bread is topped with tomato and basil. (You can also find it with pesto or prosciutto, or mozzarella. The combinations are endless.) In the states we often pronounce the sch as ‘shh,’ when the more correct pronunciation is brusketta. However you pronounce it, though, it is delicious.

All you need for this sure-to-delight snack, are tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper, and a stale baguette.  Just a little time to chop the tomatoes and herbs and toast the bread and you’ll have yourself a treat that will make you feel like you’re sitting outdoors in a summery Italian piazza right in your very own home.

Bruschetta

4 to 6 tomatoes, diced (I prefer roma, but you can use any kind really. As long as they’re fresh. Even cherry tomatoes can work)

2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced

15 to 20 basil leaves, torn (basil can be hand torn, or you can make a ‘chiffonade’ which simply means you are thinly slicing the leaves into ribbons for a more upscale look. It sounds a lot harder than it is, trust me. We chefs often use fancy French terms for very basic concepts)

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 french baguette, sliced thinly (the bread can be on the stale side)

grated or shaved parmesan cheese for garnish

1. Combine the diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vingar, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix well. Adjust ingredients to taste.
2. Brush the sliced baguette with olive oil and toss the on a hot grill. Only grill the bread for 30 seconds per side until the bread is toasted and browned. Alternatively, you can use a dry pan over high heat or even a broiler to toast the bread. No matter what you do, the bread will toast quickly. While some blackening is good, don’t over burn the bread or you might overpower the flavors.
3. Top the toasted bread with the tomato mixture. Top with parmesan and serve.

That is not the case this time. This time I straight up stole the recipe. This recipe is not ‘inspired by’ a recipe I found somewhere else, it is exactly the recipe as I saw it on the show America’s Test Kitchen.

If they ask me to take this recipe down, I will, but I feel strongly that this recipe should not be denied the world. Please go to America’s Test Kitchen and subscribe (or go buy one of their cookbooks) if you like this recipe as much as I do. They have many recipes as great as this one.

When my wife and I look at a dessert menu at a restaurant, she always makes googly eyes at the sweetest of the sweet. I always consider the after dinner cheese course. This recipe satisfies us both and has kept us in a happy marriage for 7 years now. And right now, with pears in season and on sale, now is for you to make it.

The idea is to use a classic salad pairing of pear and bleu cheese and turn it into a dessert. Once you lay halved pears cut-side down in a skillet of sugar and water you can watch the water brown into caramel right in front of your eyes. Just add a little cream around the pears to create a caramel sauce around the cooking pears. The result is a perfectly caramelized and poached pear in a rich delicious caramel sauce. Serve the pears topped with the sauce with a chunk of bleu cheese (preferably a stilton) for a flavor pairing that will blow your mind. I promise these flavors will meld together in ways you can’t possibly imagine.

Pair this with a late harvest viogner.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Pears & Bleu Cheese

2 to 3 pears (any type of pear can be used in this recipe, as long as it is firm)

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon coarsely crushed peppercorns

salt

3 oz bleu cheese (such as stilton)

1. Place the water in a 12-inch nonstick skillet and pour the sugar into the center of the pan, taking care not to let the crystals adhere to the sides of the pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is bubbling wildly. Add the pears to the skillet, cut-side down, cover, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook until the pears are nearly tender (a paring knife inserted into the center of the pears feels slight resistance)
2. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the sauce is golden brown and the cut sides of the pears are partly caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the heavy cream around the pears and cook, shaking the pan back and forth, until the sauce is a smooth, deep caramel color and the cut sides of the pears are beautifully golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Using tongs, carefully remove the pears from the pan and place cut-side up on a wire rack set over a trimmed baking sheet. Cool slightly. Season the sauce left in the pan with salt to taste and the crushed black pepper, then pour it into a liquid measuring cup.
4. Carefully (the pears will still be hot) stand each pear half upright on an individual plate and arrange a wedge of the blue sheese beside it. Drizzle the plate and some of the pear with the caramel sauce. Serve immediately. (Alternatively, the pears can be stood upright on a large serving platter, and the warm caramel sauce and the blue cheese can be passed separately.)

-The Presidents of the United States of America

Peach season is here! Peaches are at their cheapest and tastiest during the month of July and August. During peak peach, the plethora of peaches means peach sales at your local produce departments.

While dessert peach recipes are plentiful, there are less ideas out there for savory dishes to prepare during this prime peach panoply. Peaches are plenty sweet, but couldn’t their inherit juicy flavor be put to good use in something other than cobbler? (Not to say anything bad about cobbler. Cobbler is delicious.) Still, there must be a salty compliment to their sweet side.

The answer is simple: pair peaches with pork. (Have I taken the alliteration to far? I certainly never meant to get so poetic piling on the p’s per my peach prologue…ok, yeah…I’ll stop now.)

Pork pairs (I swear it wasn’t on purpose this time) better with sweet citrus-y fruit than any other protein. It’s why pork and apples work so well together. And the same can be true of pork and peaches.

Bone-in pork chops were on sale at my local store (as they often are during grilling season) as were, of course, peaches. I decided that I wanted to grill both the chops and the peaches and eat them together. It felt like I needed some kind of herb to bring it all together. Sage didn’t seem right with peaches as it does with apples, and I couldn’t find any rosemary. But then I saw fennel. The fennel’s sweet bitter flavors would help merry the savory pork with the sweet tart peaches.

I marinated my pork in an apple cider vinaigrette. I then grilled it with halved peaches and quartered fennel. After I removed everything from the grill I sliced the peaches and fennel a bit more while the pork rested for 10 minutes and then served everything over cous cous. The resulting dish is one of my favorite meals to ever have come off my grill. Often the grilled meats we prepare for summer can be awfully heavy meals under the hot L.A sun. But this was light and summery and still filling and comforting at the same time. I highly recommend this unusual combination of foods.

Eat this dish with a good summer ale or a Australian Chardonnay (Aussie chards tend to be lighter on the oak and heavier on the crisp citrus flavors) or Pinot Grigio.

Grilled Peach & Fennel topped Pork Chops

2 Pork Chops

2 peaches, halved, pits removed

1 head of fennel or anise (they are the same thing,) quartered

Apple Cider Vinaigrette (alternatively, a cheap bottle of Italian dressing will work well for a bit less work)

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk the ingredients of the apple cider vinaigrette. Pour enough apple cider vinaigrette over the pork chops to cover them. Marinate for ½ hour or up to an hour.
2. Preheat the grill 15 minutes before cooking.
3. Place the pork chops, peaches (open half side down,) and quartered fennel on the grill. Cook, uncovered for 6 to 8 minutes per side. Everything should take about the same time. For perfect grill marks, you may want to give the pork chops a quarter turn on the grill halfway through the cooking time. Remove ingredients as they appear done. The peaches should be nice and tender all the way through. Some blackening is okay. The fennel can also have charring. Keep in mind these will be sliced more off the grill.
4. Remove the peaches and fennel to a chopping board and the pork chops to a plate to let them sit for 5 minutes. Slice the grilled peach halves into 4 slices. Also cut the quartered fennel into similar sized slices to the peaches.
5. Serve the pork chops on a bed of cous cous or mashed potatoes, topped with the peach and fennel slices. Enjoy!

We’re returning to our original Thursday release schedule for Five Dollar Feast articles. Blogs will once again come out Thursday mornings starting this week with Grilled Peach & Fennel Pork Chops.

Thanks,

Ed Robinson & Jodie Younse

While delicious, Fettuccine Alfredo, is often a heavy affair. Cream, butter, and pasta may be the perfect way to warm up during a cold fall or winter season, but in the heat of summer all these rich ingredients can weigh you down. Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to go all summer long without this quick, cheap and soul satisfying meal.

The trick is grilled shrimp. The smokey char on marinated shrimp will elevate this dish to a slightly lighter, fresher taste that you can enjoy mid – July.

While I’m not going to win any health awards, with this recipe, as long as you enjoy it in moderation, it can be a great way to treat yourself or the family without spending all day cooking or breaking the bank.

Grilled Shrimp Alfredo

1/2 pound shrimp (buy whatever size is on sale. My store recently had 20 to 30 count shrimp on sale $5.00 for a pound. The ‘count’ simply refers to how many shrimp make up a pound. The higher the number the smaller the shrimp.) 

1 bottle vinaigrette (for marinating. I prefer to use a cheap bottle of Italian dressing. While I’d never use it on a salad, those cheap dressings can make great marinades for less than buying the raw ingredients.)

Pasta of your choice (Obviously fettuccine is most common with Alfredo sauce, but I prefer a pappardalle or another wider pasta) cooked according to the package.

Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

1 cup heavy cream

1 to 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (while the powdery Parmesan is great as a garnish, it won’t work right in this recipe. You really need shredded or freshly grated parm)

1 tsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Alright, it’s important to note that while this recipe is quick and inexpensive, it does take a certain level of concentration and coordination. Once prepped, the pasta, shrimp, and sauce all cook in about 5 to minutes. So make sure the shrimp is marinated, the grill is preheated, and the water is almost boiling before you start to cook anything.

1. Clean the shrimp and remove any shells. Devein if necessary. Skewer the shrimp. (To properly skewer shrimp for grilling, it is best to alternate the direction of each shrimp, allowing nor space between each shrimp.) Marinate the shrimp by placing the skewers in a shallow pan and pouring the bottle of vinaigrette over the shrimp. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the grill. (Now would also be a good time to boil the water for your pasta.)
3. Brush the grate with olive oil. (Use an oil soaked paper towel held by grill tongs to oil the hot grate.) Place the shrimp on the grill and cook uncovered about 2 to 5 minutes per side.
4. Meanwhile, make the Alfredo sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. After it has melted add the pressed garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Do NOT overcook. (You do not want browned butter or garlic in an Alfredo sauce.)
5. Whisk in cream. Then begin to whisk in the cheese in large handfuls until the desired consistency is almost reached. (Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken slightly.) Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stir the cooked pasta into the saucepan with the Alfredo sauce. Mix well to coat all the noodles with sauce. Serve the pasta, topped with the grilled shrimp and extra parmesan immediately. (Also great with a little parsley garnish.)

So, if you’ve been a reader for the last year, you should know what I think you should have for July 4^th: 5 Days of Pulled Pork!

If you haven’t been a reader that long (which, let’s face it, most of you haven’t based on my number of views then, and my number of views now) then you should follow this link, so you can enjoy recipes that look like this.

(Ooh, ahhh…)

“But, Ed,” I hear you saying, “you left out dessert. What should we stuff our faces with after all that delicious pulled pork?”

Well, I have your answer! And since you will probably be very full and tired from dinner, this recipe is a light jell-o recipe

that won’t weigh you down, AND it you can make it ahead, so all you have to do after dinner is remove it from the fridge, garnish, and eat!

Independence Day Jell-O

This is a traditional July 4^th dessert treat that is often made in a flag mold. Whatever you do, do NOT buy a flag mold. Over thirty dollars for a cheap plastic mold you might be able to use twice is not worth it. Just use your rectangular brownie pan or casserole dish. A little bit of clever decoration will get it looking like a flag in no time. Don’t be afraid of all the steps. They are really just the same steps, repeated. Once you get the hang of it, it goes fast. Just be sure to start at least an five hours before serving for the proper amount of refrigeration time!

You can also make individual portions in cups, bowls, or martini glasses! Just as tasty without the fuss!

1 small package of blueberries

2 six ounce packages of red jell-o (any flavor) 

2 six ounce packages of blue jell-o (any flavor)


1 six ounce package lemon jell-o

1 sixteen ounce tub of non-dairy whipped topping (such as cool-whip,) thawed

3 ¾ cups pineapple juice, refrigerated
 (This adds more than just your average jell-o flavor to the dish. You could also substitute half of this pineapple juice for rum for a more adult dessert.)

7 ½ cups boiling water 

 

1. Spray 13” x 9” pan with non-stick spray. If you have one, you may also use a flag mold for an even greater flag-like appearance.
2. Make the red jell-o. In a large bowl, stir 3 cups of boiling water into red gelatin until dissolved. About 2 minutes
3. Once dissolved, stir in 1 ½ cups cold pineapple juice. Pour into the 13” x 9” pan or flag mold.
4. Refrigerate pan for 1 hour. (The red jell-o is made first, because it will be at the top after unmolding.)

5. Make the lemon jell-o. Wash the large bowl or use a new bowl to make the next batch of gelatin. You don’t want the colors to mix. In this bowl, stir 1 ½ cups boiling water into the lemon jell-o.
6. Once dissolved, stir in ¾ cup cold pineapple juice. Refrigerate the lemon jell-o in the bowl for 30 minutes. This should thicken the jell-o, but not set it completely. The lemon jell-o should be the consistency of egg whites.
7. Fold in 8 ounces (about half the tub) of cool whip to the bowl with the thickened lemon jell-o. This will make the jell-o white as well as give it a nice flavor and texture. Pour the mixture over the set red jell-o.
8. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
9. Make the blue jell-o. Stir 3 cups of boiling water into blue jell-o until dissolved.
10. Once dissolved, stir in 1 ½ cups cold pineapple juice. Pour over hardened jell-o in the pan.
11. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
12. Remove the jell-o from the pan by sliding a butter knife around the edges. Carefully flip the gelatin onto a serving platter.
13. To get a more defined, flag-like appearance, trim the edges of the jell-o with a sharp long knife.
14. Decorate the top left corner with blueberries in a square pattern (you may have to trim the bottoms of the blueberries to get them to stay.) Then, create the white stripes. Fill a pastry bag (or a large Ziploc bag with a hole cut in one corner) with non-dairy whipped topping and create flag-like stripes across the jell-o flag.

This recipe may also be halved and put into cocktail glasses or ice cream dishes and topped with fruit for a simpler Independence Day treat.

Tip for getting that darn jell-o out of the pan in one piece: Dip jell-o mold in warm water for about 15 seconds. Gently pull gelatin from around edges with moist finger. Place moistened platter on top of jell-o mold. Invert mold and platter quickly. Holding mold and platter together, shake slightly to loosen. Gently remove mold; center gelatin on platter.