Twenty-five Rail Fence Blocks

 

I fielded a few questions about yesterday’s post, and thought this might be a good spot to share the answers. No, “Watergate Salad” didn’t come from D.C.’s Watergate Hotel the way Waldorf Salad came from New York’s Waldorf Astoria – at least not directly. In the mid-1970’s, Jell-O introduced instant pistachio pudding mix. (There aren’t many foods I actually dislike, but instant pudding is one of them. Homemade pudding is SO much better.) At roughly the same time, they also published the recipe I posted yesterday under the name of “Pineapple Pistachio Delight.” Jell-O certainly wouldn’t have deliberately associated its fluffy dessert with the Watergate scandal, especially while the unsavory events were so fresh in everyone’s minds. But the Watergate Hotel used to serve a pale green pistachio cake which carried its name. Jell-O’s recipe reminded someone of Watergate Cake, and somehow THAT’S the name that stuck.