Grandma's Christmas Fruit Salad

Thanksgiving fare around here is pretty much a given: turkey, stuffing, on down to the pumpkin pie.  Christmas dinner, at least in our house, has not been set in stone.  One year it might be ham, another something else.  In Burt's home growing up, it was always Beef Burgundy, but I never got the hang of that one.  There is one dish, however, that we always have for Christmas and only for Christmas - Grandma's Fruit Salad.

It's nothing fancy, nothing complicated, and there's no reason that we couldn't have it at other times.

Wait a minute, this is a breakfast blog; why am I bringing up Christmas Fruit Salad?  Leftovers, of course!  You can make this fruit salad as a side dish or even dessert and have the leftovers as a side for breakfast.

Usually, leftover fruit salad feels very, well, leftover, but not Grandma's, as you will see.  The longer it hangs around, the better it becomes.

This is a ratio-type dish, no exact amounts, and it is so simple, no fancy ingredients, that you could probably make it today and have it on New Year's Day in all its glory.

Of course, for me, the best part about this fruit salad is that it is Grandma's, so I always think of her when I make it and when I serve it.  It's a part of family being passed on to my children, which makes it the best of all.

Grandma's Christmas Fruit Salad
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained some
1 apple, peeled and cut into 1/4"  dice (not exact, just make it small)
1 banana, peeled and cut the same
1 orange, peeled and cut the same

I use a small serrated knife, like one used to peel tomatoes to cut the orange without losing too much juice.

1. Cut all the fruit very small and mix it with the crushed pineapple in a bowl.  Add more sugar than you think you ought.  For that amount, I think I added 1/2 cup, but maybe more.  Go ahead, put in a little more sugar and mix it all together.

2. Now cover the bowl and stick it in the refrigerator for a week and leave it.  All that sugar helps the fruit to ferment a little and get some tang.  That's what makes it.

This year, I was behind on things, like TODAY I'm going to write Christmas cards, so I didn't get the fruit salad made until only 5 days before Christmas, but it was still super.  It will be even better this morning and probably better tomorrow, if there's any left.

Now if any of you have special family breakfast dishes, I'd love hear.