Kitchen

[Fressa]

I think of different kinds of olives, pickles, peppers and maybe some specialty items. Check out one of your local markets at their ready to go trays to see what they're showing. It's always good for ideas.

[software]

My mom always made one, mostly for us to snack on before the big Thanksgiving meal.   She stuffed the celery with pimento cheese and included all kinds of little pickles, olives, etc.    "finger" food.    

She called it a relish tray.

Did not include relish!

[wagirl]

thanks to all—- and yes, I meant relish tray——— and we had it at our Thanksgiving dinner or any holiday dinner when I was a kid. Where dish came from——- my bad.  But will put a more modern spin on the one I will take. But how I LOVE those  teeny little sweet pickles!

[Toppers3]

Like many others here, my Mom always had a relish tray put out for every holiday meal.

Hers was similar to the others mentioned here...

She would have whole black olives on it, carrot sticks, stuffed celery sticks--usually stuffed with cream cheese or some kind of pimento cheese spread--radishes, and those small pickles that some of you are mentioning...

I think that they are cornichons?

I love them too as I really love to eat pickles in general.

The cornichons are sweet and not as briny or sharp and garlicky as some other pickles can be. 

My Dad liked to eat green onions or scallions, so she would also put those on the relish tray for him. 

[candys mine]

It was always black olives, green olives with pimento, those tiny whole pickles and My favourite, the Mixed pickles with the cauliflower and onions in th emix. We kids would look through all the jars on the store shelf just to get the one with the most cauliflower( me) or onions ( my sister).  We only got one jar so it was special. Mom always had offers of Can I help you with the shopping?  around the holidays so we could slip our favourites into the cart!

[PA Mom-mom]

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@wagirl wrote:

thanks to all—- and yes, I meant relish tray——— and we had it at our Thanksgiving dinner or any holiday dinner when I was a kid. Where dish came from——- my bad.  But will put a more modern spin on the one I will take. But how I LOVE those  teeny little sweet pickles!

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@wagirl I grew up hearing relish dish or relish tray, but mostly relish dish. So maybe it was back there in your subconscious. I love those teeny sweet pickles too!

[jannabelle1]

I think a "relish dish" is sort of an old term that my mother and grandmother used to use. It was always green and ripe olives, sweet pickles, cranberry sauce (homemade), homemade bread & butter pickles, radishes - anything that would just accompany the main food items. IMO, a veggie appetizer tray includes cut up vegetables with a dip and really isn't part of the main meal. I sure don't add raw broccoli or cauliflower to my main meal plate!

[lOVETOSHOP]

My mother always made a relish tray for Thanksgiving...I try to carry on that tradition when I host Thanksgiving.  I use many of her choices for sentimental reasons, such as cream cheese stuffed celery, sweet gherkin pickles, black and green olives.  Then I "jazz it up" by adding some modern twists that I like such as adding in kalamata olives, maybe some blue cheese stuffed olives, some small blocks of flavored cheese such as cranberry or apricot cheeses, and sometimes I'll add some marinated mushrooms from the olive bar at the local Wegman's.  Actually, sometimes I'll visit the olive bar just to get ideas of new and interesting things to add to my relish tray!  

[Honeybit]

What a fun thread!  I always thought maybe a relish dish/tray was a Southern "thing."  We never had them at home because ours was a very small family, but they were always on the table at potlucks or church dinners.  I have a non-Southern friend now who loves to host big get-togethers.  She always has a relish dish among her appetizer offerings which is mostly what has already been described, usually several kinds of olives, salamis, cheeses, baby carrots, etc.  I don't remember any pickles, though.

[ECBG]

My step grandmother, whom I adored always had a relish tray.  She included celery stuffed with pimento cheese.  It was a sweet gesture.