Oh! The things we take for granted in the United States, things like peanut butter and pickle relish.  Neither of these items is readily available in Rapallo, and usually we don’t miss them very much.  But watch out – the 4th of July is just around the corner.  You can’t get through the 4th of July without a hot dog or a brat, and according to me, you can’t eat either without pickle relish on top.

The solution to the scarcity problem is obvious: we must make our own.  We made this recipe a couple of years ago and served it at a 4th party, which included many Italian friends.  To our surprise they loved it, to the point of requesting the recipe.  “It will be good with chicken and pork,” one of them said.  I suppose so, though we generally opt for the Captain’s chutney with that kind of meat.  But for a good old ‘Merican hot dog or German brat, nothing beats relish on top, and this recipe makes a relish unlike the vivid green items you can buy in American supermarkets.  We adapted it from a recipe we found on cooks.com.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!  Eat a hot dog!!