Aunt Bee's Tomato Aspic

With only three ingredients, this classic recipe for Tomato Aspic could not be easier! Aunt Bee is famous for her ladies’ lunches, and this sweet and savory dish has been a crowd favorite for years. Best of all, it’s even simple enough to serve with your next weeknight meal!

My mom’s godmother, Aunt Bee, is a fine Southern hostess in the best sense of the term! She has served holiday meals, cocktails, and lunches to our friends and family for as long as I can remember, and her dishes always garner rave reviews. She has a knack for preparing simple, classic dishes in a delicious way. She knows which ingredients work best together, and she also knows some genius shortcuts to keep prep time in the kitchen minimal. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for?

In my opinion, the best meals for entertaining are those that can be made in advance and that allow us to enjoy socializing at our parties, rather than slaving away in the kitchen. This recipe for Tomato Aspic is one of those gems!

It’s a side salad that uses the fresh, sweet citrus flavor of lemon Jell-O and combines it with savory tomato juice. It’s a unique pairing, but it really works!!

Over the past year, Aunt Bee has been sharing treasures from her past (and present!) with me -- including fond memories of my grandmother (her best friend), her family’s holiday traditions and keepsakes, and some of her most treasured recipes. I love the process of recreating Aunt Bee’s classics in my own kitchen so that I can share the tastes and stories with my children. These meals are a connection to the past that will be carried on for generations.

In fact, the individual molds that I used to make the aspic actually belonged to my grandmother. My own mom used them, and now I can enjoy them as well. Again, a fun connection to my past!

I have shared a number of Aunt Bee’s best recipes in recent months; however, this Tomato Aspic is probably her most “famous” recipe among my mom’s friends. It is one of her signature sides and it’s something that guests look forward to enjoying whenever Aunt Bee entertains. Last week I shared her secret over on the Recipe Chatter blog, and trust me: it’s about as easy as it gets! Just another reason that I consider this lady a culinary genius…