I know what you’re thinking.

WHAT in the name of all things good and holy is the abomination in that bowl?

Remember last summer, when I told you about Mama’s Trashy-Good Orange Sherbet? This is another summertime frozen treat I grew up on: Frozen Pink Velvet Salad.

Oh, gird your loins. It’s Pepto-pink but powerfully alluring.

This salad is one of those magical concoctions hidden in the splattered pages of your mama’s spiral-bound community cookbook. The one that’s probably shoved in a kitchen cabinet or sitting on the microwave instead of a bookshelf. The one with fantastic retro recipes just begging to be rediscovered, like the unfortunately named (but delicious) Frozen Orange Balls and this Frozen Pink Velvet Salad – a creamy, crunchy, fruity concoction made with cherry pie filling, crushed pineapple, sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping, miniature marshmallows and pecans.

Oh, yes.

Stir ’em up in a big bowl, pour ’em into a big baking dish, and freeze.

The mixture sounds insane, I KNOW, but when it comes out of the freezer, so sweet and so cold, no one can resist it.

Mama used to keep a big dish of it in the freezer all summer for us to dip into when we needed a quick snack or were begging for dessert.

Each bite melts in your mouth. First, you taste the sweet velvety creaminess of the condensed milk, whipped topping and marshmallows. Then the impossibly cold cherries and pineapple bits. And finally, you end with the crunch and chew of the pecans.

And then you take another bite. And another.

This salad is a great summertime potluck dish, because you can make a metric booty-ton in five minutes flat, it stays cold and refreshing for quite a while, and it can double as a side dish or dessert.

Plus, it has mini marshmallows. You just can’t fight those.

Frozen Pink Velvet Salad

Adapted from “The Nashville Cookbook”

Serves 14-16

• 1 can (16 ounces) cherry pie filling
• 1 can (13 1/2 ounces) crushed pineapple
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 container (13 1/2 ounces) whipped topping
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup pecans (optional)

1. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together (in the order listed).
2. Transfer to a 9-by-13 baking dish, and freeze.

[ad name=”space”]