Going for the Gold

Last Sunday was the Emmys.  The yearly tradition is going over to a friend's to watch the ceremonies with a potluck included.  It's a fun night had by all.  Good food, great friends and even prizes.  The new Mad Max movie took home the lion's share of trophies.  And, of course, Leo DiCaprio finally took the best actor category.  You like him, you really like him, to paraphrase previous winner Sally Field.

Everyone brought some great food, ranging from a lasagna type casserole, Mary Brown's chicken, chips and dip with guacamole, and much more.  We had some great food, great friends, and great entertainment for the evening.  

I'm known for being the dessert guy so I wanted to contribute something golden to go with the theme of the evening.  Everyone wants to win Oscar gold, so I created a slice of gold: pineapple pretzel salad.  

This recipe is adapted from the traditional strawberry pretzel salad.  The term salad is a bit misleading as it comes out more like a bar dessert.  It's layers of gelled pineapple and cream cheese sitting on a pretzel crust.  It takes a little time to prepare, mostly waiting for each layer to set or cool down.  I've used the recipe from Housewifespice:

The recipe goes as follows:

INGREDIENTS

• 6 1/2ounces pretzel sticks
• 2 1/4cups (15 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 12tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 8ounces cream cheese
• 1cup heavy cream (36%)
• 3pounds (10 1/2 cups) crushed pineapple, drained and divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/2teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 1/2cup cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. I also used parchment to line the pan. Pulse pretzels and ¼ cup sugar in food processor until coarsely ground, about 15 pulses. Add melted butter and pulse until combined, about 10 pulses. Transfer pretzel mixture to prepared pan.   Using bottom of measuring cup, press crumbs into bottom of pan. Bake until crust is fragrant and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Set aside crust, letting it cool slightly, about 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on the crust to make sure you don't overbake.   You can go from hero to zero in under a minute.
• 2. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream cheese and ½ cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and, with mixer still running, slowly add cream in steady stream. Continue to whip until soft peaks form, scraping down bowl as needed, about 1 minute longer. Spread whipped cream cheese mixture evenly over cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• 3. Meanwhile, process 2 pounds pineapple in now-empty food processor until pureed, about 30 seconds. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over medium saucepan, using underside of small ladle to push puree through strainer. Add remaining 1½ cups sugar and salt to puree in saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until bubbles begin to appear around sides of pan and sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes; remove from heat.
• 4. Sprinkle gelatin over water in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Whisk puree into gelatin. Add remaining pineapple and stir into pineapple-gelatin mixture. Refrigerate until gelatin thickens slightly and starts to cling to sides of bowl, about 30 minutes. Carefully pour gelatin mixture evenly over whipped cream cheese layer. Refrigerate salad until gelatin is fully set, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Serves 12-18.