Are you a person who cringes when your foods touch? Don’t answer that. I don’t want to ruin my impression of you because I happen to really like when my foods touch. I like seeing what certain things taste like together because you never know when you’ll find a random winning combination. When I was 8 years old I had an epiphany when part of my dinner salad casually slid into my french fry ketchup mound. That day I discovered that ketchup on salad tasted just like 1000 island dressing without the mayo. I spent a good year putting ketchup on my salad while enduring the looks of disgust from my family. Have I lost you?

The other day I decided to eat comfort food in the form of Thanksgiving dinner (for lunch) from Whole Foods. I got home, opened the cardboard to-go box and saw that all of the contents had shifted. Delightful!  The Brussels sprouts and roasted butternut squash were saturated with gravy and cranberry sauce and I thought, “We’re really onto something here.” I decided to give you a recipe that I like to call a happy accident, even though I did it on purpose. I just want your taste buds to thank me for something new and different. In this dish, sweet roasted cubes of butternut squash mix with savory browned Brussels sprouts, bits of apples, onions, smoked curry powder and the surprising tang of cranberries. It’s like stuffing but without the bread, a roasted medley that’s perfect for all the vegans, vegetarians & gluten-free diners at your Thanksgiving table. You could eat it on a random fall afternoon because you’re ridiculously excited about Thanksgiving dinner. It’s really up to you.

And we’re off.

Ingredient gathering! If you love chopping, you’re gonna love this recipe.

Chop up the butternut squash, trim the B-sprouts & cut them in half. Cut up an onion & an apple.

WELCOME TO CHOPPED CITY. It’s a very colorful place.

Here’s dressing city. It’s mighty flavorful here.

Stir the ingredients together for the vegetable lube.

Drizzle it over the vegetables & stir to coat. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Add salt & pepper then oven.

And roast. Look it’s all ROASTED!

You could eat it off the baking sheet.

Or you could be all proper and put your roasted vegetables in a bowl.

Just use a fork. It means you’re classy.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash & Cranberries

serves 8 as a side dish

(a Shutterbean original recipe)

• 1 1b. Brussels sprouts, trimmed & halved
• 1 medium butternut squash peeled & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 apple, cut into 1/2 pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Spread the Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cranberries, apple, & onions on a large rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl mix oil, vinegar, and curry powder together. Drizzle over the vegetable mixture and toss to evenly coat. Sprinkle brown sugar over the vegetables and place baking sheet in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, gently stir and continue to roast for 20-25 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender and nicely browned.