Their 'must serve' salad

This recipe, passed down through four generations of the Smith family, originated with husband Greg's great-grandmother Ollie Clark.

Greg comes from a family of amazing cooks, Elizabeth says. Which probably explains why he grew up cooking and loving it so much that he became a professional. He is executive chef at the Marriott University Park Hotel.

And, wouldn't you know, it was cooking that brought Elizabeth into his life.

She worked her way through college cooking professionally and met Greg while both were cooking for Westin La Paloma.

But her major at the University of Arizona was fashion design, and these days she has forsaken the kitchen to teach in her field at Pima Community College.

This recipe for Cranberry Whipped Cream Salad is so special because it was handed down from a great-grandmother to her daughter, to a daughter-in-law and then to another daughter-in-law.

Plus, it's a recipe the whole Smith family loves and looks forward to at Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday dinners.

"Or it's great served in the hot summer at picnics and family gatherings" as a dessert, Elizabeth said.

The original recipe called for real whipped cream, but in the interest of saving calories and lowering cholesterol, Elizabeth's mother-in-law switched to whipped topping.

Real whipped cream probably tastes better, Elizabeth said, but it's still delicious with the substitute topping.

"This recipe is best served a few hours after preparing it, but it is so easy to do," she said, that it can be whipped up anytime.

"It's the only way I'll eat cranberries," Elizabeth said.

This salad looks very festive with the three ingredients layered in a glass bowl.

The Smith Family's Cranberry Whipped Cream Salad

Yields 10 servings.

* 2 packages (about 4 cups) finely crushed graham crackers

* 2 14-ounce cans jellied cranberry sauce, sliced into quarter-inch thin rounds

* 1 8-ounce tub whipped topping

Layer one-third of the graham crackers at the bottom of a clear glass serving bowl. Then layer one-third of the jellied cranberry sauce slices and spread on one-third of the whipped topping.

Repeat two more times, ending with the whipped topping.

You can save one of the slices of jellied sauce for garnish by using small cookie cutters to cut out little shapes like hearts or Christmas trees to decorate the top layer of whipped cream if you like.