Recently I’ve taken on writing the seasonal column for Just Food‘s monthly newsletter. It requires me to pick a seasonal piece of produce, write a review of a recently published cookbook and select a recipe from the cookbook featuring the selected produce. Hard work, I know. When Angela over at Just Food asked for my help, I couldn’t have been happier. An excuse to think about what I’m already always thinking about, plus an excuse to read more cookbooks! I was a bit nervous as to what would fund these new cookbooks and where they would fit in my apartment, until Angela casually mentioned, “The library is a great place to find cookbooks”. THE LIBRARY! Why had that never occurred to me before?! I check out regular books from the library, why had I never considered cookbooks. Think of all the money (and space) I could have saved over the years. Hmm, if you can’t find me for a while, now you know where to look.

November’s vegetable was Brussels Sprouts, one of my absolute favorites, and I reviewed Sylvia’s Table. While a very seasonally focused cookbook, it was still broken down into courses, rather than the new style of seasons. I actually found that refreshing. I know what’s in season; I don’t really need a book to point that out for me. What I do need is a quick reference to what course I’m looking for. Sylvia’s Table provided just that. The recipe I selected was Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash and Apples. As I retyped the recipe, I knew I’d have to replicate the dish. So far this year I’ve made ZERO Brussels sprouts dishes. That’s a problem.

I nixed the butternut squash; I wanted an easy side dish and was not in the mood for peeling and sharpening my knives to attack the squash. A simple blend of Brussels sprouts, apples, sea salt and maple sugar fit the bill and went perfectly with my soon to come “Thanksgiving Burger” recipe.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples (Inspired by Sylvia’s Table) Serves 6-8

• 4 c Brussels sprouts, halves (or quartered if extra-large)
• 3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp maple sugar
• Fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix apples and Brussels sprouts (make sure you include the extra leaves the fell off when cutting. They get extra crispy and yummy!) in a large baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, maple sugar and fresh ground pepper.

Toss well to coat. Bake for 25 minutes until sprouts are bright green and browned around the edges.

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