Category Archives: Holidays

While making the turkey is certainly the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving adventure when you are cooking, the side dishes can be more fun and even more memorable. You get the opportunity to really try out some new things if your willing to break from tradition a bit. Sure you can still have mashed potatoes and stuffing, but you have a lot of options with the ways you make both and with your vegetables, the combinations seem almost endless. Since we will be away this Thanksgiving and I won’t be cooking the meal this year, I wanted to try out some dishes and recipes I have seen recently for sides for Thanksgiving. A personal favorite of mine is always Brussels sprouts and I love them roasted, so when I came upon this recipe from Tasting Table for roasted Brussels sprout with squash and apples, I had to give it a try. The original recipe also tops it all with candied walnuts, which I omitted because Michelle and Sean don’t eat walnuts, but you can certainly include them back in to give you some extra crunch to your vegetables.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Squash and Apples

1 pound Brussels sprouts (about 30 sprouts), trimmed and halved

2 pounds butternut squash (about one small squash),cut into 1-inch chunks

1 apple, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 shallots, thinly sliced

15 sage leaves

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the Brussels sprouts, the squash, the apple, the sliced shallots and the sage leaves. Add the melted butter and the maple syrup and season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Toss all of the ingredients until all of the vegetables are well coated with the butter-maple syrup mixture.

Spread the vegetables in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined sheet tray. Roast, turning the vegetables occasionally, until the Brussels sprouts are golden brown and tender and the butternut squash is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a serving dish, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve, topping with walnuts if you desire.

It is a nice and simple combination of vegetables that provides you with some great fall flavors. You get the taste of the sprouts and the squash combining nicely with the apple and the hint of maple syrup throughout the dish adds a nice glaze and flavor to the vegetables overall. We all loved the dish when I made this past weekend and I think it would go really well not just with turkey, but with any poultry, pork or beef meal where you wanted some nice roasted fall vegetable flavor on your plate. It’s definitely one I will make again this fall since it all comes together pretty quickly.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!