So we have to admit to everyone here: we love Brussels sprouts more than anything on Thanksgiving EXCEPT maybe the stuffing. We make them every year, and we have a favorite way of preparing them. A few years ago, we discovered that cumin makes everything more delicious, and Brussels sprouts and cumin are the key to many, many peoples hearts.

We’ve blogged about this Brussels sprouts dish before. (Find the recipe here.) But since this month is all about Thanksgiving, we thought we’d do a little Spice Roasted Brussels Sprouts redux.

The basic ingredients are Brussels sprouts, garlic, red onion, cumin, chili powder and olive oil. We make them extra special on the holidays by adding a little nutmeg and then we garnish the finished product with pomegranate seeds! Although, I will confess to having swapped coriander, cinnamon, or ground ginger on occasions when I didn’t have nutmeg handy. All were delicious!

Of course, this week we’re doing more than just recapping our favorite Thanksgiving Brussels sprouts recipe. We’re also matching it up against the Rosemary Roasted Veggies we tested out on Tuesday, and we want YOUR feedback about which one we should choose for our Thanksgiving menu this year.

So what will it be? Our perennial classic mixing all our favorite flavors – Brussels sprouts, cumin, roasted onions and pomegranate seeds – or the bold new root vegetable roast that lets the carrot and beet flavors do most of the talking (with our favorite green vegetable thrown into the mix for good measure)? Help us decide!

July 4th is commonly thought to be THE American holiday. Fireworks. Red, white, and blue everything. A celebration of the birth of America. But Thanksgiving is arguably even more American than the Fourth of July. We came, we saw, we brought turkey. Gluttonous eating and thankfulness probably sum up America more than fireworks. So what is this London based girl doing for Thanksgiving this year? Why, bringing it to Britain of course! On November 28th, this American Ex-pat will be joined by British, Australian, Swiss, Spanish, and Canadian friends who are putting on their best American accents (interesting note on that… it’s mostly Southern) and celebrating the great American feast. I mean really, they don’t have pumpkin pie here! It’s the least I can do.

My Australian flatmate has kindly offered to cook the turkey as it is not my strong suit (Thanks J!) That leaves me with an as of yet to be determined veggie casserole, my famous mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and lots and lots of pie. Canada is bringing the stuffing. She’s our closest neighbor, so it’s almost her holiday too. A note on pie. Pie = savory. Pie = what Henry VIII had for dinner. Pie = meat. A sweet pumpkin pie was a tricky one to explain! Everyone is properly intrigued, and the pressure is on to make the perfect pie! More on that to come…

So what does England do between Halloween and Christmas? The answer is a combination of July 4th and Thanksgiving. Guy Fawkes Night! On November 5th, 1605, Guy Fawkes was part of the Gunpowder Plot in which he and several others tried to burn down the House of Lords. His attempt failed, and in honor of London NOT being burned to the ground, all those years ago, Britain lights (controlled and contained) bonfires all across the city. Oh the irony! The celebration includes a fireworks display choreographed to music, massive bonfires, and lots of food. As I edit this post on November 5th, 2013, I can hear fireworks exploding every few minutes. America, don’t hate me, but it’s really fun.

This year I’m thankful for all of my family and friends around the globe that I get to share Thanksgiving with, whether it’s their 27th Thanksgiving, or their 1st!

What dish are you most excited for at Thanksgiving this year?

Now that November is finally here, Jennie and I can let our enthusiasm for Thanksgiving run free. This year, we are not contented to refer to our favorite holiday all month long and then follow it up with our usual nostalgic throwback posts and a flurry of chaotic pre-Thanksgiving prep and live-blog updates. This year, the month of November is going to be all about planning the perfect Garlic, My Soul Thanksgiving. Starting with a new tradition that we’re calling Test Kitchen Tuesdays.

For the next three Tuesdays, we’re going to try out three new recipes for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. Each one will be pitted against one of our tried and true GMS Thanksgiving recipes within the same general category, and we are hoping you will help us decide which new recipes to include in our meal this year, and which ones just don’t measure up to the GMS classics.

This week is all about roasted fall vegetables. Our typical Thanksgiving includes a Spice Roasted Brussels Sprouts dish that we love, but when we came across this Rosemary-Roasted Beets recipe in the October issue of Real Simple, our mouths began to water. Of course, we could’t help but add Brussels sprouts to this one as well. Can’t mess with tradition.

This recipe let’s the vegetables do the talking, with minimal interference in the seasoning department. Just a little oil, red wine vinegar, and of course the fresh rosemary.

Sometimes, I have the misfortune of forgetting how much I love beets. Luckily, this recipe reminded me, and I intend to make the most of it over the next few months.

It occurs to me, that this dish is made up of three highly controversial vegetables. Beets and Brussels sprouts can be hard sells for picky eaters, and I’ve seen close friends and family come to near blows over the issue of cooked carrots. Luckily, Jennie and I have no such hangup. If you’re not a fan of these veggies, all we can say is, more for us!

What do you think? Should this recipe replace the Brussels sprouts we’ve made for the past 4 years?

There was once a magical time when my BFF (and our resident vegetarian contributor), Rebecca, came to visit Los Angeles. As you may know, she’s currently residing in London, so it was a mega treat having her back home! Eating breakfast is one of our favorite things to do together – typically we order something vegetarian-friendly that both of us are excited to try, and then we share. It’s a perfect partnership. Cafe Verona on La Brea was the perfect spot for this BFF breakfast adventure!

The outdoor patio at Cafe Verona is a lovely lush oasis! It made me instantly forget we were on one of LA’s busiest streets.

I ordered this delicious cinnamon-topped latte. Becca hadn’t had her caffeine fix yet and wisely ordered a drip coffee.

I ordered the Frittata Tricolore with avocado, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. It was incredible. I’m now doing dairy-free eating (more on that next month), so the memory of this cheesy deliciousness is making my mouth water! Oh, and that beauty on the side there? A sweet potato mash. Genius!
Becca ordered the Frittata DiCarciofi with artichoke hearts, goat cheese, and cheddar. Amazing!
It was the best sharing my favorite meal with one of my absolute favorite people!

What’s your favorite meal to share with your best friend?

Hi folks, we had planned to bring you a lengthy, detailed post all about how we made these scrumptious and delightful Halloween zombie cupcakes. And we’d love to answer all of your questions in the comments, but here’s the thing. The Red Sox just won the world series, and we have some important celebrating to do! So, here is the quick and dirty version.

For Halloween, we decided to make cupcakes with a “blood-filled” center! Start with a basic vanilla cupcake recipe. We used our go-to baker’s secret, the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

They make something called a cupcake corer, but we didn’t have such an item, so we improvised with a small biscuit sized cookie cutter about the size of a quarter. Using the cookie cutter and a paring knife, you can gently pop little circles out of the top of your cupcakes.

Next, whip up some fake blood by adding a little lemon juice to some raspberry jam. Fill the cupcake holes with 1-2 teaspoons of this mixture, and be sure to leave room to replace the circular pieces of cupcake that you carved out earlier. They don’t have to look perfect, because you will cover them with icing later!

We didn’t get too fancy with our icing, sticking to basic Halloween orange and purple.

Serve to nearby zombie friends who are willing to get covered with icing and fake blood!

Be sure to check out this post and other nerd-tastic delights over at Fanboy Comics!

Happy Halloween!