RETRO DESSERTS REBORN

Although we are always longing for the newest and trendiest desserts, it’s the old time favorites that never disappoint. Dust off your family recipes and bring back some vintage favorites to share for the holidays. Here is a blast from the past with a few retro desserts.

Ambrosia

A spin on a traditional fruit salad, ambrosia brings a little sweetness to the mix. Ink Foods brings this old favorite back to life by combining fruit cocktail, pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, nuts and coconut to make a fresh spin on this retro dish.

GROCERY LIST:

8-ounce package of cream cheese

2 cups sour cream

1 cup fruit cocktail, canned

1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped

1 cup mandarin oranges

2 cups marshmallows shredded coconut, garnish chopped walnuts, garnish maraschino cherry, garnish

DIRECTIONS: Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature before mixing with sour cream; stir until smooth.

Drain juice from fruit cocktail and mix in the chopped pineapple and mandarin oranges before adding to cream cheese mixture.

Once fruit and cream cheese is combined, gently stir in marshmallows. Spoon into serving dishes and top with shredded coconut, chopped walnuts and a maraschino cherry.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

BAKED ALASKA

A classic ice cream bomb layered over a cake flavor of your choice makes this an all-time favorite. Keeping the ice cream frozen will be the key to covering the top in meringue and baking before serving.

JELLO MOLD

An American classic, Jello can be found in a vast amount of old-time desserts, including a classic Jello mold. With so many flavor options for every season, this recipe must be brought back to stay. Combining peaches, peach Jello and condensed milk is the perfect way to start.

There’s a reason they’re called “The Greatest Generation.” Some 400,000 Americans gave their lives fighting in World War II. Many thousands of others made it home, though wounded physically and mentally by the horrors of war. Some of those who served, however, never saw combat. Their service was behind the scenes instead of on the front lines. Even so, their military time impacted the war effort in ways big and small.

By Oak Cliff Writer Kim Batchelor Great holiday gift

William J. Lawhorn always has been lucky.

About a week before training started, all but eight of the servicemen in his Air Force squadron were called to the Army. Many of them wound up in the infantry, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

Lawhorn went to radio school.

He was stationed in Sioux Falls, N.D., Scott Field, Ill. and Roswell, N.M. After that, he was shipped to Kwajalein Island in the South Pacific. But by then, the United States already had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“The Marines had already cleaned it all up,” he says.

The Rockwall native, now 89, attended the University of North Texas on a football scholarship. He wanted to be a doctor, but he says he couldn’t pass organic chemistry. So he moved to Lufkin to teach school and married his UNT sweetheart, Anna.

“I had to go to the dentist, and he charged