Rainbow Jell-O Adventure

This is a recipe taken completely from an online source here. The only changes I made were to the flavors of the Jell-O. The internet is rife with recipes very similar to this one, though some take on a strange twist. It's not uncommon, for example, for the author of the recipe to recommend that you grease the pan (your Jell-O pan) with mayonnaise. Yikes.

Ingredients:

3 boxes	Jell-O
1 box	Gelatine (4 envelopes)
1 can	Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz))
1 tsp	Vanilla
	water

Procedure:
The first and most crucial step is the choice of your flavors of Jell-O. The recipe itself places no constraints on the flavors you use (that is, any flavor combination will work), but if you use the same flavor more than once you're boring. I elected to use strawberry, orange, and piña colada. I'm not sure how many times on the piña colada box it used the phrase non-alcoholic, but it was a lot.

Prepare the three batches of Jell-O as directed, using 1/2 cup less cold water than directed for each batch. This ensures that it will set firmly. Let it set in your fridge for the recommended time on the box. Leaving it to set for too long will not cause problems. You can make the Jell-O in anything you want, but I had particular success with pie tins. The smooth thin bottom made of aluminum (an excellent heat conductor) will make your life easier when it comes time to remove the finished product.



Now, from here on you want to make sure you've got time to do it in order and with the correct timing. Otherwise tings can get screwed up.

Mix the vanilla, condensed milk, and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and heat to the point where it steams heavily, stirring frequently. Mix all four packets of gelatine into 1 cup cold water and let stand for about a minute. Combine the milk mixture with the gelatine mixture (which will be pretty spooky looking at this point, since you've got one cup of water trying to contain four cups's worth of gelatine). Allow it to cool, but not to set. This will take at least an hour at room temperature. I don't recommend putting it in the fridge unless you are absolutely certain you won't forget about it. If it sets, you have failed.



Whatever it was that you made your Jell-O in, find something at least a little bit larger and put some hot water in it. Dip the bottom of the pie pan in the warm water for about a quarter minute to loosen the Jell-O from the mold. They suggest this on the box, which made me skeptical, but it actually worked very well. Cut the Jell-O into small pieces, such as rectangles, and invert the pan over a 9x13 glass pan. The procedure is identical for each batch of Jell-O. Rearrange the pieces to be more or less level, as well as pretty.



Once your milk mixture has cooled, pour it over the small pieces of Jell-O. Wiggle it around a little bit to get it to seep into all of the cracks then put it in the fridge. It will start to set appreciably within a half hour, though I went to bed before determining exactly how long it takes to be done.



Once set, the dessert can be loosened by a quick soak in warm water. Then cut it into serving sized pieces and enjoy. Serves approximately one million people. Seriously, this makes a lot. The picture isn't even all of it.



Now, for anyone with a even a passing familiarity with Jell-O, there should be a few variations to this recipe that jump to mind. The first, right there on the box, is fruit (other than pineapple, guava, and other very acidic ones). Fruit would be great in here. The kind of fruit could even be matched to the Jell-O flavors you're using if you're feeling particularly cute.

The second variation is alcohol. You've got the milk Jell-O holding everything together, so what's the big deal if your colored parts are a little runny? If you're feeling particularly cute, match the alcohol to your Jell-O flavor. Throw some rum into the piña colada. Drizzle some vodka into your orange, or some tequila into the lime. What are daquiris made of? Whatever it is, put that in with the strawberry.

If you do this (and I fully intend to sooner or later), it might be appropriate to sort your regions; make a daquiri/piña colada/margarita mexican flag. Bonus points for the Captain and Coke eagle in the middle. That way you don't have to worry about the boozes playing nicely with each other.

Edit: It looks like piña colada is a seasonal flavor of Jell-O, as are margarita and daquiri. You don't even have to improvise I guess.