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It always warms my heart to see traffic pick up on my Best Ever Roasted Turnips post as Thanksgiving approaches. Before that, I posted my alternative to the traditional green bean casserole. I tend to be a traditionalist when it comes to my Thanksgiving menu — but I do like to experiment with the vegetable side dishes. What can I say, I have a passion for giving misunderstood produce new life on your holiday table. So this year I turned my attention to Brussels sprouts. I can’t remember really eating them as a child, so I don’t have the baggage of a childhood filled with soggy, limp boiled sprouts to overcome. But for those of you who may have experienced such a travesty, I’m here to tell you: it doesn’t have to be that way. There are two schools of thought when it comes to preparing Brussels — cook ’em in/with/on/under bacon (never a bad approach), or roast ’em. Either way, the objective is to cook them until just tender inside and a little crisp outside. For this Thanksgiving side, I roasted them and combined them with roasted butternut squash and fresh pomegranate arils to add some contrasting sweet and tart notes and a bit of color.

Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Pomegranate
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (arils)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• Kosher salt
• black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel butternut squash, remove seeds, and cut into small 1/2-inch cubes. Place on rimmed baking sheet, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place in oven and roast 10 minutes before adding Brussels sprouts.

2. Meanwhile, trim Brussels sprouts stems, remove outer leaves, and cut into quarters. Spread on a second rimmed baking sheet and gently toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place in oven and roast 25 to 30 minutes, stirring midway through. (Stir squash at the same time.) Brussels and squash should both be tender and browned.

3. Place cooked Brussels sprouts and squash in serving bowl. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper to taste, then top with pomegranate seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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More Brussels love from around the food blogs:

• Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Celery via One Hungry Mama
• Oregano Brussels Sprouts via 101 Cookbooks
• Brussels Sprouts with Canellini Beans and Almonds via A Thought for Food

If you’re still not completely sold on the virtues of Brussels sprouts, take a look at my friend Domenica’s recent find — Kaleidoscope sprouts.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving vegetable?

What do food bloggers do when a hurricane is approaching? Cook and bake, of course. With school and work cancelled and hours to go before the serious part of the storm arrived, I hunkered down in my kitchen cooking down the contents of my refrigerator. All the while following along with those on twitter doing the same thing. We had this pumpkin gingerbread cake for breakfast, and I had chili simmering on the gas stove for dinner just in time — as we lost power in the late afternoon. Fortunately, we were without power for less than 36 hours — as we all know, the brunt of Hurricane Sandy was felt by those in New York and New Jersey.

While our family and friends were largely spared damage, hearing about and seeing the devastation on the news has been heartrending. (My friend Christina of Take Back Your Table was without power for 10 days–and even then, she’s one of the lucky ones. Some areas may not have power back until December.) And once again, the food community is banding together to support those impacted by Hurricane Sandy — with a Food Bloggers Support for Sandy virtual potluck. I’m bringing this cake, but visit our hostess Creative Culinary for a hearty round-up of comfort dishes. And I know I don’t have to tell you to give if you’re able to the hurricane relief effort. To give toward kid-focused relief efforts, there’s the Pajama Project or K.I.D.S., both of which can take donations directed towards Sandy relief work.

Recipe: Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
Makes 2 9-inch cakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses

The holidays are approaching — time to brush up on manners with a special pre-holiday “Tea with Mrs. B” this Sunday, November 11, at The Fairfax at Embassy Row. In this two-hour event, Mrs. B will offer holiday etiquette advice, while The Fairfax’s Chef Ferrier will share healthy holiday eating suggestions. There will be a full kid-friendly tea service and even a photographer on hand for family photos while everyone is dressed in their fancy tea attire.

We had such a fun time at a “Tea with Mrs. B” event at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria last year. If you can’t make it to Sunday’s event, the Morrison will also host holiday story time teas on November 17 (Thanksgiving) and December 15 (Christmas/Hanukkah). Visit Mrs. B’s website for additional details.

Holiday Etiquette and Tea Party for the Entire Family
with Mrs. B
Sunday, November 11, 2012
1:00-3:00pm
Fairfax at Embassy Row
2100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Adults: $49 per person; Children: $29 per person
Purchase tickets online here or call 202-736-1459.

Today is Food Day 2012,* last week was National School Lunch Week — so it seems like a good time to check in on what our kids have been eating in school.

While our county public schools advertise all the right buzz words — whole grains! local produce! fresh fruit! — the menu could still use improvement. My son loves a hot lunch, though, so I mostly allow him to choose whether he wants to buy or bring a lunch. Here’s my assessment of the menu thus far in this school year.

• The Good: Local and fresh fruits and vegetables. There are always two or three fruit and vegetable options and usually they are fresh and raw, not the stereotypical over-cooked, limp and blah veggies.
• The Bad: Chocolate milk. My kindergartener discovered quick it was up to him which drink to choose. And then proclaimed to me, “TruMoo Chocolate Milk is healthy because they serve it at school!” (Um, yeah. THIS IS WHY SCHOOL LUNCH REFORM MATTERS. You can preach nutrition in the classroom all you want but it doesn’t matter if you don’t offer them nutritious choices in the cafeteria.)
• The Curious: Last year, Meatless Monday options were provided every other week. They’re gone this year. Now, there is a choice between two entrees each day, but nearly every other day an Uncrustable is one of the options. Um, what?

On the menu today:

I’m pretty sure serving Uncrustables *on Food Day* is a cry for help, don’t you think? (Never mind that they’ve been recalled.)

When I pack lunches, I keep it simple. A fresh apple, always, and even after school the boy’s been known to snack on one or two more before dinner. (We have a “you-can-always-have-an-apple” rule in our house.) He isn’t a big fan of sandwiches, but he likes mini whole wheat pita pockets or (all-natural nitrate-free) lunch meat and (organic) cheese slice roll ups. I even made a homemade Lunchable one day (organic crackers, Newman-O — don’t usually include dessert, but that was a special treat).

Part of the reason I let my son buy the hot lunches is that, done right, they can encourage kids to try new things. In preschool, my son had healthy hot lunches served family style and he would often eat things he had turned down at home. When sending lunches, unfortunately, kids are so easily influenced by what their friends are eating. One day last year, my son came home asking for a Nutella sandwich, because his friend X got one every day. So I explain that some foods are only to be eaten as special treats, and try to make healthier versions if possible, like with the homemade Lunchable.

Last night, I attended a local event organized by parents in neighboring Fairfax County, Virginia, who are conducting their own campaign to reform school lunches. As part of the event, four teams of high schoolers competed to prepare a salad bar on a school budget and within the USDA new healthy lunch guidelines. Each team presented something delicious that they were confident their classmates would eat. As one of the team members emphasized, after surveying classmates, “We would eat healthy food if given the option.”

DC Central Kitchen Chef Ed Kwitowski spoke, offering his experience from cooking meals for nine DC public schools. He explained that when they introduce new items to the menu, they’ve had great success by hosting tastings in the schools — beets prepared several ways, for example, or just introducing new flavors like their new harvest salad with barley, mushrooms and squash.

Chef Ann Cooper, known as the Renegade Lunch Lady, was the keynote speaker at the event. Naturally I was nodding along in agreement at her presentation, which emphasized that we have to reinvest in kitchens in schools and make healthy food delicious if we want to teach children to enjoy it. She also argued for school gardens — more on that soon.

If your schools aren’t moving fast enough to make school lunches healthier, there are ways you can take action. Visit The Lunch Box toolkit for ideas. Join your school’s wellness committee, if there is one, to learn about what’s already being done and identify a first step to take. Maybe it’s chocolate milk, maybe it’s offering local produce — any big change begins by taking that first step.

What are your kids eating for lunch today?

*Food Day is a national event to celebrate and advocate for healthy, affordable and sustainable food for all. Visit their website to learn more and to find local events taking place this week.

This was intended to be a quick post about a healthy and fun pre-Halloween lunch, but of course my six-year-old had other plans. Oh, he was amused enough by the first sandwich, but then he asked for a second. And then he said it wasn’t scary enough. So I told him the jack o’ lantern was saying “Boo!” — to which he replied that he needed to see the word bubble to believe it. You can see how that went below…

First, though, the recipe — though it’s pretty simple. Whole wheat sandwich bread, a touch of pumpkin butter, and a blend of shredded cheese. A large pumpkin cookie cutter shapes the sandwich, and small cookie cutters are used to cut out the face. The cheese does ooze through while cooking, though, so the face won’t look quite so perfect when you’re done. *I* think that adds to the charm, but it depends how tough your critics are…

Recipe: Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Grilled Cheese
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 8 slices wheat bread
• butter
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and gouda)
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin butter

Instructions:

1. Cut bread into pumpkin shape. Use small cookie cutters to cut out a face in four of the slices.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium low heat.
3. Spread 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin butter on the bottom slice of bread and place in pan. Cover with 1/4 cup shredded cheese and the face side of bread. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side until golden bread. Repeat with remaining slices of bread.

Note: Straight pumpkin puree can be substituted for the pumpkin butter — a good way to use up any leftover puree after baking.

And, as promised, here’s my first “Boo!”…

… but he said it had to be ON THE PUMPKIN to count. No pressure or anything.

Needless to say, next time he’ll be in charge of “carving” his own sandwich. 😉