Roasted brussels sprouts are a standard Thanksgiving dish, and when cooked right, they are delicious! To make them taste better, cut them in half before roasting. Toss them in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast until they have some crisp on the outside. That's the basic recipe for making them taste really good, IMO.

I love brussels sproutsâ¦but would skip the beet salad! Lol.

Another wonderful roasted veggie is butternut squash. Cut into cubes, tossed in oil, salt and pepperâ¦and NUTMEG, which chopped pecans.

Yum!

Another brussels sprouts fan here. I love Molly Stevens' recipe from All about Roasting which includes lemon, butter, and capers.
Here's a link to an adaptation of her recipe:

http://awhiskandaspoon.com/2011/11/22/roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-capers-and-lemony-browned-butter/

I made these recently for my 26 year old grandson who had NEVER EATEN BRUSSELS SPROUTS! He pronounced them delicious.

By the way, taking time to halve them and cut out the core pretty much eliminates the bitterness.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 9:56

We love brussels sprouts. Roasted with a splash of balsamic and some dried cranberries at the end are delicious.

Hubby had hated brussels sprouts all of his life, until I made them. It's one of our favourite veggies.

I haven't tried them shredded and sauteed yet, but that's also popular.

I usually go to my sister's house for T-Day and she almost always serves brussel sprouts. I love them -- with vinegar!!! I also think that a traditional turkey dinner needs some dark green veggies. :)

My sister likes to try different things and the one year I didn't like the brussel sprouts was when they were coated with an orange marmalade sauce -- not sure where she got the recipe, but I think she liked them. Your versions with either balsamic vinegar or almonds & dried cranberries both sound great to me!

I love beets and I love Brussels sprouts, but they are not popular vegetables. Only you know your audience... But I would not serve Brussels sprouts unless I knew people liked them or I had a ton of options for guests... what's the rest of your menu?

The most crowd pleasing vegetable is green bean casserole but personally I think that is way too heavy to be on the same table with Thanksgiving staples. If you aren't sure, I'd try sourcing some very nice (thin) haricots verts (French green beans) and serve them with sautéed pine nuts or slivered almonds etc

I can't stand brussel sprouts. My friend made them for Christmas one year and it stunk up the whole house. Of course she just used frozen ones straight out of the bag. The beet salad sounds tasty to me. We always love broccoli slaw made with craisins. One time the lady put some Ramen noodles in it for a nice crunch. You can buy the broccoli slaw already chopped up at Walmart.

I made Brussels sprouts last year for an extended family gathering using a recipe with Dijon mustard and cooked in the crock pot from FoodNetwork. We had to put the pot in an upstairs utility closet until dinner time because the odor was ... well, of Brussels sprouts. The pot was emptied and had nothing for leftovers. We had a discussion about who did and didn't like them and found that everyone did, including the teens who had never eaten them before. I wouldn't try to fancy them up with nuts and fruit - those flavors would get lost.
Nancy

How about French green beans with walnuts, feta, and cranberries?

FYI, looks like broccoli, spinach and green beans are the most popular based on below. I won't even include corn!

Would you want to do a salad? One of my faves and at top ranked salad on epicurious is a spinach salad with apples, pecans and a maple dressingâ¦

Here is a link that might be useful: Veggie voting

I just steam them whole and top with butter.

I recently shredded sprouts in the food processor using the slicing blade. I picked out the pieces that were the stem end, then tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 15 min, I think - until they were starting to brown. Placed in a bowl, tossed with some fresh lemon juice and a small amt of fresh Parmesan. There was not one bite of them left. And they didn't stink up the house!

Wow! .........lots of input. Thanks!
I'm not in charge of the get-together, and no one really organizes the food.......so everyone just brings what they want. There are a fair number of Vegan/Vegetarians or people who just like veggies, so it's not a problem to bring some more unusual stuff.
I try to make something that Vegans can eat too......or I would put more cheese in the dishes. I can use vegan butter.
DD is Vegan and insists on bringing her 5 favorites......and I usually bring 3 things. It's sort of embarrassing to walk in there with 8 things! (Not always enough counter space). She thinks everyone will like her stuff, but I like taking stuff that I know a lot of people will enjoy.....not just vegan/veg people.

I have 2 weeks to test-drive this, so I'll buy some brussel sprouts soon and try them. What I'd really like to do is take good mashed potatoes. Someone has brought the same ones every year and they are totally diluted/saltless and totally tasteless. I keep whispering to some family members that we need a mashed potatoes intervention. haha
Thanks for all your replies!

I have tried to like them. I just don't.

Ina Garten's green beans with shallots is wonderful and quick if you blanche the beans beforehand, dry, and store in the fridge until you're ready to heat. I'd get them out of the fridge about 30 min before preparing.

Roasted cauliflower is delicious, too.

I came across a post describing the most delicious salad that uses pears and gorgonzola. I can't find it now, to credit the person, but there are several variations if you google.

Core and peel pears (apples can be subbed), into slices.
Combine slices with honey, melted butter, and a little cinnamon then roast in 400 degree oven for 20 min, turning halfway through. I'd keep an eye on them, may not need this much time.
Coat roasted fruit with a dry sherry vinaigrette dressing (or vinaigrette of your choice).
Serve over baby salad greens and top with toasted walnuts, gorgonzola and sliced or diced prosciutto.

Olychick's sound perfect.

Also agree with Mtn. and Kitchendetective re: Haricots Verts beans. Steamed for a couple of minutes (don't overcook!) and sautéed with some garlic in OO with salt and pepperâ¦yum. And you can always have a couple of small bowls of Parm on the table..or one of these, ideal because no one has to touch the cheese.

Here is a link that might be useful: Microplane Cheese Mill

The very easiest things to feed people, in my experience, are plain string beans and plain carrots, either steamed or glazed (in their own sugars, not with a pot of honey on top). A drop of butter (or EVOO for the veg people) if your diners like them glistening, but plain steamed goes over well with a heavy meal.

I think I actually suggested Brussels sprouts, in another thread, because they're traditional for Thanksgiving, but I WILL NOT EAT THEM! Like all cabbages, including cauliflower, they have a lot of sulphur in them. They have more sulphur, actually, and unlike cauliflower, which goes sweet when you roast it and loses a lot of its sulphuriness, I find Brussels sprouts inedible no matter how they're prepared. I'm also sensitive to the sulphur in B vitamins and had to stop taking my previous favorite because they went "all natural" and stopped putting in a masking agent.

I tell you all this because you had so few naysayers. I should say, I only dislike Brussels sprouts when they get within five inches of my nose. They're beautiful, and I want to like them. If they were the only vegetable on the table I'd be very sad (and, anyway, to me, a feast isn't a feast without lots of different vegetables). As one of eight dishes, however, why not?

I, for one, love Brussels Sprouts!
For many years, I was the only one in this family that did.
Until I served them the Pioneer Woman's way.
Every last sprout disappears every time I serve it!

I notice someone said not to add cranberries, nuts, etc,
because the flavors will disappear.
Not true in this recipe!
The flavors enhance each other.
It is delicious.
And has the added benefit of being a rather colorful
And attractive dish.

Rusty

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman's Brussels Sprouts

I like them roasted with chestnuts. If you cook them long enough they won't be bitter.

In my circle of family/friends brussels sprouts are very iffy, as are beets.

I've tried to like sprouts, and I don't think I've ever eaten beets, on purpose.

I've learned that Thanksgiving is not a time to try fancy new recipes or introduce new foods.

Sauerkraut is a big deal here in Baltimore (very German), but not in my family. They are willing to eat cranberry sauce or lingonberries as a tart addition to their meal, but not sauerkraut (which I love mixed in with my mashed potatoes and gravy).

We usually go with fresh broccoli, or fresh peas, or fresh string beans and such, nothing too fancy, nothing "undercooked" (not crunchy), just cooked well and seasoned well. Otherwise, there are bowls full of uneaten veggies.

Good luck and have a Happy Thanksgiving

Mashed potatoes would be a hit at my table! I always put a dollop of mayo in mine.

I could eat enough to kill me - especially roasted until the sweetness comes out in them. But of all the veggies people have said they hate it seems like they are always on top of the list. So I refrain from having them for company.

It sounds as if you have enough sides going that you should bring the brussel sprouts. I, for one, like them as do my Grandparents and Aunts. I know for sure the majority of my cousins wouldn't even touch them. Its so frustrating because the only vegetables they will eat have to be cheese/cream coated. I was thinking of doing a simple roasted cauliflower as one of my sides but I know half the family will not eat it.

A veggie liked by half the family is probably worth bringing, unless it's just two of you! So a smaller amount would serve well.

There must be something the other half likes too.

I hated brussels sprouts up until the past few years. Boiled sprouts with butter - yuck. I've learned to like them roasted (but didn't you say that you're tired of roasted vegs?) or with a dijon mustard sauce. I will not eat beets or cauliflower. Or baby corn - because they taste like beets to me. ;-)

Nice to see you are still around, ideefixe.

I hate them but only slightly more than the cauliflower hate.
Know your audience. In my experience, 50% of people like them.

And I do like vegetables. So I make what I like most of the time.
Some dishes are prepared for special people.

I love Brussels sprouts, and just made some, sliced and sautéed with leeks in butter. Very yummy. I also like them just plain boiled with butter but I just can't manage to like them roasted, they never get done enough for me. I'm one of those odd people who don't want "crisp tender" vegetables. I want them raw or I want them cooked and nothing in the middle, LOL.

Melissaki5, I have the same family members, I think, they won't eat a vegetable unless it's covered with cheese, butter or some kind of cream sauce. I won't touch that green bean casserole thing, but 75% of my family loves the stuff, go figure.

I also love beets, any way you can cook them. Marinated, grated raw into salad, just boiled with salt, pepper and butter, Harvard Beets, you name it, I'll eat it if it has beets!

Happy Thanksgiving, I'd make the Brussels sprouts!

Annie

The new crisp tender way to cook vegetables-ugh-it all tastes like grass to me. Like that dark green frozen peas taste.

Mashed potatoes? The ones that are made ahead is very popular with my family. Mashed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese (yeah I know). Easy to make the day before then reheat in the oven with dollops of oven on top

Here is a link that might be useful: Elsie's Potatoes from The Best of Bridge

Oooooh! Frozen petits pois! Right out of the freezer. Green taste and all. Some people like frozen Milky Way bars. Me? My freezer candy is baby peas!

I guess I'm not with the crowd. I like a lot of vegetables just blanched. Especially green beans, matchstick asparagus, broccoli, snowpeas... Roots need to be cooked through, even carrots, but I don't like a lot of green things cooked soft, actual greens, especially, unless they're tough, like turnip greens. I'll eat them all raw, except asparagus, but green veg cooked more than blanched or wilted are hard for me to face. I eat them to be polite. :) OTOH, eggplant, for me, (though it's a fruit) has to be cooked until it's mushy to be good. I don't know why anyone would eat bitter, spongy "firm" eggplant.

Plllog, we can't be friends now... (Just kidding !) By the way, thank you for all your kind words to one of my health threads. I can't recall which disease it was, I have so many... Sigh...

I'm one who likes root vegetables cooked until soft, except carrots. Those I only enjoy raw.

I like my green veg to be crisp with a hint of tenderness unless roasted. I like those brown bits a LOT.

Cabbage is something I tolerate cooked, preferably with something to cover the cooked texture, but would rather eat raw.

I don't know why sprouts aren't my thing. I've had them many ways and haven't enjoyed any of them. I think it's because they are too sweet. I don't care for beets except at one nice restaurant. I ordered Beet Carpaccio out of curiosity. I figured a 5 Diamond restaurant would serve something amazing, and I was right. The dish was wonderful.

I've learned that most vegetables benefit from being roasted. They are much better than if they are boiled, steamed,etc.

Even cabbage - it's terrific cut into chunks, drizzled with olive oil and salt, roasted for 30 min. Whole different vegetable from that awful boiled stuff.

I'm told the same goes for brussels sprouts, I just haven't had them that way, since no one in the family will eat them, apparently on general principles!.

I bet they ARE better roasted. Still not yummy! LOL

Nah. Beautifully roasted Brussels sprouts are even more intensely sulphuric! They look terrific, but in my book, they're nasty. I think cabbage is stronger roasted too, but I don't have as distinct a memory. I'm okay with braised cabbage. Cauliflower when roasted to softness still smells but it's sweet and tasty and not too strong smelling to eat.

Deeby, we're friends! Just more peas for me! They have to be petits pois, though. Not starchy ol' peas. They do taste very green, though, so not for those with a chlorophyll aversion. :) I hope you're doing better.