Among the most emblematic memories of my first fine dining experiences as a child was the arrival of the relish tray. Carrots, radishes and big fat unpitted green olives which hadn’t been plucked from a can. Planted on that leather banquette waiting for the steak or shrimp cocktail to arrive I would delight in that. Of course I was probably still high from the smell of the airplane glue we used to assemble our model planes and ships in the garage. Still, it pleases me today when I sit down in an old school steakhouse and a relish tray comes out. This is less a recipe than a schematic. Recently I was lucky to discover some excellent French breakfast radishes as well as cerignola olives. I matched this up with crusty French bread, creamery butter and homemade harissa. We didn’t have harissa when I was a kid but it’s a good fit. When I entertain guests at home I always make sure that there is a relish tray. It keeps your guests out of the kitchen while you are doing the heavy lifting behind the yellow “caution” tape.

Oct. 1, 2021, 11:50 a.m.

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