We moved to Canada from the UK 5 years ago and so Thanksgiving is still fairly new to us. In order to make the Thanksgiving meal different from the traditional roast turkey dinner we have on Christmas Day we have changed some of the vegetable dishes and now have mashed potatoes instead of roasted potatoes and have replaced roast parsnips with creamy corn.
So, in the pre-Thanksgiving weekend veggie box we were pleased to see brussels sprouts and sweet pumpkin, amongst other fall vegetables. We had recently found a recipe for Oregano Brussels Sprouts and Thanksgiving seemed the perfect time to try it out. And they were pretty good!
Ingredients (serves 4 as a side)
- 24 small brussels sprouts (less if you can only find larger sprouts)
- extra virgin olive oil
- fine grain sea salt
- Oregano Drizzle
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped (I actually used fresh Sage as it was also in our veggie box!)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
- a big handful of toasted almond slices
- Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top (quarter, if using larger sprouts) and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact. Or if you’re feeling lazy, just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil.
- Make the oregano drizzle by pulsing the olive oil, oregano, parsley, garlic, and salt in a food processor until the herbs are just little flecks of green. Season with more salt if needed, and set aside.
- Just a few minutes before you’re ready to eat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
- Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Remove from heat and drizzle and toss with as much (or little) oregano pesto as you like. Season to taste, and serve sprinkled generously with the almonds as soon as possible. They really are best straight from the stove top.
To complete the meal, and as I am not a huge fan of Pumpkin Pie, I made Pumpkin Cheesecake, having made it successfully last year. I even made an extra one, as I had double the amount of cheesecake mixture, which I then took into work where it was also well received!
Ingredients (serves 12)
- For the crust
- 1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- For the filling
- 4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese, very soft
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.
- Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.
- Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).
- Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving.
Thanksgiving may have happened for this year but there’s still time to take advantage of all those wonderful fall veggies! And if you don’t get to enjoy either of these recipes this year, save them and try them next Thanksgiving! We’re going to mix it up even more next year by trying Maple Cider Brined Turkey! Yum!
The Wellness Almanac 
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