Relish the Food Focused Holiday

I love Thanksgiving! Any holiday centered around food makes me happy. Add family, friends and making memories and you’ve got a pretty sweet recipe for a happy day.

Every family has one or two really great recipes that must be included in the Thanksgiving feast. I asked my 10-year-old granddaughter what her favorite dish is on the Thanksgiving table. She chose, as she does for every holiday, a bowl of my creamed corn. When I asked her if that was all I needed to fix, she said that she probably would eat a piece of pumpkin pie too.

Both my granddaughters love this creamed corn and ask for it for every holiday and special occasion. I buy fresh corn from the farmers market at the library during the summer. I cut the kernels off the cob and freeze it to use later. My go-to recipe is Alton Brown’s Better Than Grannie’s Creamed Corn. It’s become a holiday staple for our family. I’ll probably go ahead and do a few other dishes to go with the corn and pumpkin pie, even though Chloe will only have those two items on her plate.

I was chatting with my oldest daughter who lives in New York City and she mentioned she was making a couple of batches of her great-grandmother’s (my grandmother) cranberry relish. She plans to give jars of those jeweled red berries to her coworkers as a little Thanksgiving gift. I’d forgotten how easy the recipe is and how much it reminds me of Thanksgivings from my past. I found the old recipe box and card in my grandmother's handwriting and made a double batch for our little family. One bite and I was transported back in time.

Here’s the recipe that was passed down to me.

Cranberry Relish

• Heat oven to 300 degrees.
• Put 1 package fresh cranberries in a large baking dish (My grandmother insisted that Pyrex or glass was the only thing you should use, she didn’t like the way metal pans made the relish taste. I used disposable foil pans for easy cleanup and don’t think it altered the taste in any way).
• Mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 2 cups of sugar and sprinkle over berries. Cover tightly with foil and bake 1 hour.
• Mix in 1 cup black walnuts, one 8 oz. jar orange marmalade and 3 teaspoons lemon juice into the hot berries. Stir until well mixed.
• Cover and let stand overnight. Put in jars and refrigerate. It will keep all winter.

I’m sure many of you have Thanksgiving recipes that have been passed down through generations. I’d love to hear what things are a “must-have” for your family.

I’ve found a few books centered around the Thanksgiving theme. Enjoy the day and enjoy the memories!