Thanksgiving Dinner. Those two words strike chill in the hearts of many American men and women. There are several reasons for this. One is that they usually mean that your family is getting together. All your family. Even the parts you don't get along with too well. The other reason is that it is arguably the most important meal (food wise) of the year.

Each family has its own set of traditions and special dishes. I know lots of folks who would not eat dinner without the famous string bean casserole. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. I prefer my green beans cooked just until hot and served with butter and lemon. In our family the menu, and it never varies, looks like this:

Turkey, of course, the bigger the better, even though some years there were only 5 of us.
Stuffing, cornbread and sausage, only made for Thanksgiving.
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Green beans
Cranberry sauce and Fruit Relish.
Pies, usually apple and pumpkin

When I say it never varies, I mean it. I suggested a small change and there was an uproar and someone said, "Well, you might as well cancel Thanksgiving!". We are nothing if not attached to our traditional foods. So, I thought I would share our recipe for fruit relish. It is an interesting alternative to cranberry sauce.

Fruit Relish

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 8 oz can of chopped but not crushed pineapple
1 8 0z can of pears cut into chunks
1 8 oz can peaches cut into chunks
1 cup raisins
1 c walnuts
Orange Juice
sugar to taste

1. Put cranberries into a good sized pot and just cover them with orange juice.
2. Cook them until they pop. You can hear them pop and they start to get mushy.
3. Add sugar to taste.
4. Add chopped fruit, raisins and walnuts
5. Stir well and let cool.

This will make a good bit of relish so feel free to cut it in half. It it good and not too sweet. It gets better as it ages so make it the day before you want to serve it.

This year we are only having 8 for dinner. It will be a squeeze around the table but I love it.

Tomorrow, Cornbread with sausage stuffing.