Senator Len Jordan’s “Silhouette Salad”

Senator “Len” Jordan , who was also Governor of Idaho, has weirdly been in the news as of late. He’s having a moment because of some legislation he sponsored to reign in the executive power of Richard Nixon (lover of Ham Mousse). Now, Jordan’s legacy is proving to be legally difficult for the Trump administration. So it was pure coincidence and strange serendipity when I found Len Jordan’s name in an old 1960s Congressional Cookbook, right beside a delightfully named recipe: Silhouette Salad. I recognized the name after I’d decided that I had to make this silly salad.

Why is it called Silhouette Salad? It’s supposed to be good for your silhouette (your figure) of course. Which means…Len Jordan is probably going to do us dirty, isn’t he?

Senator Len Jordan

Republican Senator from Idaho

Favorite Food/Homespun Recipe: Favorite Food

Notable:

being a legal thorn in Donald Trump’s side; running sheep up Suicide Trail

Quotable:

“If ever the day comes when the Congress surrenders its control, or even part of its control over the purse strings of this nation, on that day the Congress will have reduced itself, by self-immolation, to the ashes of sterility.”

As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

1 envelope Knox gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 can chicken or turkey, diced

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

2 tbsp chopped pimiento

2 tsp grated onion

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Sprinkle gelatin on cold water.

Classic Cookin’ with Congress Step #1. Definitely the most popular Step #1.

2. Blend soup with water and lemon juice over low heat.

3. Add soaked gelatin. Chill.

Take “chill” as you will, but I took it to mean put this thing in the fridge, turn on some Next Level Chef and drink a Spindrift. Okay and lots of editing on one of my Eating Like a President series, sure. I could chill more often.

3. Fold in remaining ingredients. Chill until firm.

I went with canned chicken, as I strangely couldn’t find canned turkey at two different stores. I make a lot of trips to grocery stores, as you might imagine. You can already tell this salad is going to CRUNCH. Celery, peppers — this Jello will have some texture. They always do…

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram or TikTok OR…YouTube! What a beaut. Thanks to the soup, it’s not just a bunch of raw vegetables suspended in transparent good. Instead, it’s a bunch of raw vegetables molded into a creamy, white-ish block that caught the attention of all three of my cats. And who could blame them? The salad DOES look vaguely like…cat food.

Verdict:

Yeah it tastes sort of like cold cat food too.