New recipes might add to family's Thanksgiving tradition

Looking for some untraditional Thanksgiving recipes? Here are two possibilities.

PEAR AND ONION GRATIN

1 large red onion

3 ripe Bosc pears

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup coarse whole-wheat Panko breadcrumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fill a large bowl three-quarters full with water; add a handful of ice cubes. Cut onion into 16 wedges, place in a strainer and lower into the water. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Half and core each pear; cut each half into 6 slices. Drain the onion wedges well and place them in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish along with the pear slices, 1 tablespoon oil, thyme, salt and a grinding of pepper; toss to combine. Cover with foil. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a small bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; stir to combine. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over gratin, return to oven and roast until breadcrumbs are well browned, 20 to 30 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

-- cooking.com

APPLE SAGE CHUTNEY

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 Vidalia onion, diced small

6 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced small

1/2 tablespoon grated ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup apple-cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup chiffonade of sage

1 bag sweet-potato chips, optional

Heat canola oil in pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, 5-8 minutes. Add apples, ginger and cloves, reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Allow to sweat, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes or until apples begin to break down. Add vinegar and sugar, and bring heat up to medium and allow to simmer until liquid reduces by just over a half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and sage and stir until butter melts. Allow to cool. Serve as a complement to turkey or as an appetizer, served with sweet-potato tortilla chips. Yield: 10-12 servings.

-- Foodshouldtastegood.com (recipe altered)

(E-mail Mary Constantine of the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at constantinem(at)knoxnews.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)