I'm waiting to hear about this, too - really curious. But, I must comment that I hate women (primarily) that refuse to share a recipe; it's just sooo selfish and shows their inferiority complexes so greatly in that they fear their "prestige" would be lowered if someone else makes it, too, and shares in the eating and/or accolades. What is the matter with people?

arline

Is it possible that it was one of the Grape-Nuts puddings that became popular during WWII rationing?

Could it have been a pineapple pudding, doctored up with walnuts, coconut and crushed nilla wafers?

I hate that, too. And I've encountered it in the past but not recently. I once asked a friend for her sugar cookie recipe which was to die for. She gave me a recipe but it sure wasn't the one I asked for!

I went looking. Would this be close if vanilla wafers were used instead of a pie shell and you removed the cherries?

Hawaiian Millionaire Pie (Allrecipes.com)
INGREDIENTS

* 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
* 1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
* 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, fold pineapple, lemon juice, whipped topping, cherries, condensed milk, and walnuts together. Pour into pie shell and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Or this one:

Melt In Your Mouth Pie (Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1/3 cup lemon juice
* 1/3 cup flaked coconut
* 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
* 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
* 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
* 1 (10 inch) pie crust, baked and cool

DIRECTIONS

1. Gently combine the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, coconut, chopped nuts and drained crushed pineapple. Fold in the whipped topping. Pour batter into the prepared pie shell. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Or instant vanilla pudding made with half and half or sour cream with coconut, pineapple, and walnuts added. I'm not sure what to do with the vanilla wafers. Were they used to line the serving dish?

Well - I searched around a bit and found the following.....

Pineapple Coconut Nut Pudding
posted by Becky 09-21-100 12:27 PM

Pineapple Coconut Nut Pudding

2 (20 oz.) cans unsweetened crushed pineapple
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Drain the crushed pineapple through a strainer, saving the juice in a bowl. Reserve 2 cups of pineapple pieces, put the rest in a blender. Add all of the juice and the cornstarch and blend well. Pour into the top of a double boiler and thicken over medium heat, stirring constantly. Mixture will reach the consistency of paste.

Add the coconut, nuts, spices and reserved pineapple pieces. Stir, remove from heat and refrigerate.

Serves 6.

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Just to clarify:

The "pudding" wasn't so much a creamy pudding but rather more like a bread pudding. It was served "mounded" in a bowl. If there was any real pudding of any kind in it, it was a minimal part of the recipe rather than the core.

I'm thinking that the base was vanilla wafers glued together with something creamlike plus the juice from pineapple.

I don't really know, though.

Thanks everyone,
Joe

Joe,

What was the taste? Was it sweet, fruity? Did it pair well with the turkey, gravy and trimmings? Did it replace the job of the cranberry sauce?

It was creamy, but was there a crunch from the wafers and nuts? Were they ground so fine that they weren't crunchy?

This is quiet the mystery...I'm very curious about this one!

The taste was subtle pudding, good hints of pineapple, the crunch of teeny-teeny bits of walnut, the "feel" of the vanilla wafers (not quite "grainy" not crunchy).

It was "okay" with the turkey but then again, I'm not sure if cranberry sauce actually complements or goes with the turkey. I think people pair that up with turkey because it's tradional -- not necessarily a flavor match. I think the nut pudding would have made a fine "adult" dessert, with some kind of fun plating/garnish.

And this has become quite the mystery, indeed.

Joe

From what you have described, if I tried to make this I would thicken some pineapple juice with flour and butter, cook till thick,cool then add crushed vinilla wafers and nuts until it looked right. Maybe some whipped cream added to the cooled pineapple sauce might be the way to go too.That would make it creamy white instead of yellow.
I'm out of VW or I would try it tonight.

I think wanting to solve the mystery comes with wanting to teach that hostess a lesson! LOL If we get this figured out, you should invite her over and serve it to her!!

What mollycats describes is also the base of a salad we make with acini de pepe pasta...we call it 'frog-eyed salad'. If you think it is right on, I will give you the recipe for the base then you can try adding the wafers and/or nuts to get it right. The salad does call for whipped cream also and it is very light in color, not yellow at all. No nuts, pieces of pineapple, manaderin oranges and marshmallows. Would be good w/coconut. It is very creamy and very good.