Tipsy Gelatin Molds

Your seemingly always luckier sister is tying the knot this spring, and you're a little envious. "Drown yourself in a "drunken" gelatin mold", advises Victoria Belanger, the hilarious Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn blogger.
    But be sure to leave some, too, for the other guests at the bridal shower, engagement party, bachelorette party or other gathering. Belanger's creations are more than booze-filled. They are absolutely gourmet, and the perfect treat for spring soirees.
    Belanger, therefore, is the first gelatin blogger to get her own cookbook, Hello, Jell-O!: 50+ Inventive Recipes for Gelatin Treats and Jiggly Sweets. So much does she like the notion of popular "jello shots" translated to the classic (and often before this old-fashioned) mold format that she's devoted a whole chapter to it, including molding or serving many of the results in cocktail glasses.
    If you're a teetotaler, you'll stick to Belanger's "chai tea" and other milder choices elsewhere in the cookbook, but otherwise the bar is open. The currently chic cosmo cocktail is just like its bar-based original, including vodka, triple-sec, and cranberry and lime juices. It gets augmented, as the versions in lounges sometimes do, too, with fresh raspberries-as well as Belanger's trademark sense of humor.
    "Perfect for anyone who values the immense health benefits of berries, as well as people like myself, who value the immense health benefits of vodka."
    With a bit of raunchiness like this, it's clear why it says on the book's cover that the Jell-O brand (though Belanger is able to use the word in the title) is not officially part of the book or endorsing it.
    They might want to consider it, though, since Belanger's recipes are much more gourmet and sophisticated than those usually appearing on packages or manufacturer websites.
    Her pear and lychee martini creatively utilizes both pear juice and fresh or canned lychees. And who ever heard, for instance, of a coffee Kahlua gelatin mold, based on the popular Hawaiian liqueur, let alone one served in homemade fluted chocolate cups?
    Another benefit for the sweet tooths among us, as Belanger rightly brags, is that all of these party-ready tipsy temptations function as both cocktails and desserts.

Petite Watermelons
Makes 20 fruit slices
1 cup boiling Water
1 (3-ounce) package?Strawberry-flavored gelatin
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen and thawed Strawberries
Ω cup cold Water or Vodka
5 Limes, halved, pulp scooped out and discarded, and rind halves reserved
1 tsp black Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or basil seeds

In a bowl, add the boiling water to the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Transfer the gelatin to a blender. Add the strawberries and cold water, or vodka, and blend until liquefied. Refrigerate until thickened. Skim off any foam that has risen to the top of the gelatin mixture and stir to evenly distribute the strawberry puree. Spoon into the lime rind halves. Refrigerate until firm.
Carefully halve the gelatin-filled lime rinds again. Sprinkle with the seeds and serve.

Raspberry Cosmo
2 Tbsp (2 envelopes) unflavored
    gelatin powder
Ω cup cold Water
1 º cups Cranberry juice
Ω cup Sugar
æ cup cold Triple sec
Ω cup cold Vodka
2 Tbsp Lime juice
1 cup fresh Raspberries
Yields 1 (4-cup) gelatin mold or 5 to 8 individual glasses.

In a large bowl, sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the cold water and allow the gelatin to absorb the water for 2 minutes.
In a saucepan, bring the cranberry juice and sugar just to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat. Pour the boiling mixture into the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
Let the mixture cool; stir in the triple sec, vodka and lime juice. Refrigerate until thickened. (See note 1.)
Fold in the raspberries. Spoon into a 4 cup mold or 5 to 8 martini glasses. Refrigerate until firm. (See note 2.) Unmold and serve, or serve in the martini glasses.
Note 1: The gelatin should be the consistency of an extremely dense pudding. Keep it in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes (depending on the volume, thickness and chilling temperature). This is best for when you will suspend fruit as you do in this recipe.
Note 2: The gelatin should not stick to your finger if you touch it. It should be immobile.
Keep it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours for individual molds, at least 4 hours for 2- to 6-cup molds and at least 5 hours or overnight for 8- to 12-cup molds.