A Thanksgiving Side—and a Mid-Roast Change of Plans

ROASTED ACORN SQUASH WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS

I love produce shopping this time of year. The gourds, the root vegetables, the hearty roasted dishes you can make with them—it’s all a pleasant reminder that my favorite day of the year, Thanksgiving, isn’t far away.

On a recent Sunday, I was planning to roast a chicken and had my seasonal vegetables ready to go: acorn squash and Brussels sprouts. Instead of roasting them as separate sides, I thought it would be fun to combine them into one savory seasonal dish. A little online research led me to a recipe from Taste of Home: roasted acorn squash and Brussels sprouts tossed with pecans in a buttery syrup glaze.

Since I always enjoy jazzing things up a bit, I decided to add a few touches of my own. I had a four-ounce package of diced pancetta that I knew would roast beautifully with the vegetables. I didn’t have pecans, but walnuts made an easy substitute. A handful of dried cranberries joined the walnuts, butter, and syrup, and I finished everything with crumbled feta for a little tang.

COURSE CORRECTION

The dish turned out just as delicious as I’d hoped, but getting there required a small course correction.

The original recipe called for a sheet pan. My instinct had me reaching for a deep baking dish instead. Everything would be nicely contained, I figured, and I could stir without worrying about vegetables tumbling over the edges. Convenient? Yes. The best choice for roasting? As I soon discovered, not quite.

The recipe called for about 35 minutes at 375°F, but halfway through, the vegetables weren’t showing much promise. They were beginning to soften, but I wasn’t seeing the browning I wanted. That roasted finish seemed a long way off.

A little research helped explain the problem: the deeper dish kept the vegetables nestled together, giving moisture less room to escape. Instead of developing those nicely browned edges, they were steaming more than roasting.

So, out came the baking sheet. I transferred the vegetables, spread them out, and nudged up the oven temperature. A little extra time and breathing room did the trick. The vegetables finished roasting beautifully.

The pancetta added savory flavor and crisp bites, while the dried cranberries became plump and juicy as they warmed in the melted butter and syrup with the walnuts. The feta brought just enough tang to balance the earthy vegetables and sweet glaze. Every addition earned its place.

If you’re looking for a side dish for your Thanksgiving table, this one brings together so many of the flavors I love about the season. It certainly earned a spot on my menu.

Just make sure to use a baking sheet!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium acorn squash
• 1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts
• 4 ounces diced pancetta (optional but recommended)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-3/4 cups walnut or pecan halves
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut squash lengthwise into quarters; remove and discard seeds. Cut each quarter crosswise into 1/2-inch slices; discard ends. Trim and halve Brussels sprouts.
2. Place squash, Brussels sprouts and pancetta in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread the vegetables and pancetta in a single layer on one large rimmed baking sheet or divide them between two smaller sheets. Roast for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and browned at the edges.
3. Meanwhile, in a dry large skillet, toast walnuts or pecans over medium-low heat 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add syrup, butter and cranberries; cook and stir until butter is melted and cranberries start to plump.
4. Gently toss the roasted vegetables and pancetta with the warm cranberry and nut mixture, then fold in the crumbled feta.

Dutch Crookneck Squash Risotto

Have you ever heard of a Dutch crookneck squash? Neither had I! Turns out it’s very similar to a traditional butternut squash. That is, if a butternut squash were on steroids!

I love a good kitchen challenge, so when someone recently gave me a squash they couldn’t identify—and had no interest in identifying or cooking—I was happy to take it.

I decided to try it in one of my favorite comfort dishes: traditional butternut squash risotto. A little research confirmed that Dutch crookneck squash could stand in for butternut.

And let me tell you, it worked fabulously!

As with most of my risotto recipes, I like to finish things off with a little butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It adds an extra layer of richness and gives the risotto that wonderfully creamy texture.

Rosemary gets my vote for this dish, though sage would work beautifully too. I added fresh rosemary early in the cooking process, then a little more just before serving. The flavor was fantastic!

Sometimes the best dishes come from ingredients you weren’t even planning to cook with. All it takes is a little curiosity and a willingness to experiment in the kitchen.

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cups Dutch crookneck squash, peeled, cut into ¼-inch cubes (you can also use butternut squash)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced rosemary (or sage), divided
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 4 cups warmed broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot, heat broth (hot but not boiling), keep warm. In a large pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onions, sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes

Add squash, stir together and cook for 6-8 minutes until squash softens.

Add the garlic, 1 teaspoon rosemary and rice, mix so all grains are coated, let cook for 3 minutes (it’s ok if grains begin to slightly toast). Add wine, toss to coat all grains.

When the wine has evaporated, add the hot broth one ladle at a time, stirring every 20 seconds or so. Wait until the rice is almost dry before adding the next ladle. Continue for about 20 minutes.

Once all the broth has been added, stir in the butter, the remaining 1 teaspoon of rosemary or sage, and the Parmesan cheese. Cover, remove the pot from the heat, and let sit for one minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Gypsy Gravy: Sometimes the recipe isn’t the real point.

I didn’t set out to create a recipe the day I made Gypsy Gravy.

I was having a bad day at work. Nothing dramatic—just one of those days when everything seemed to be piling up. I needed to step away from it for a while, so I went into the kitchen and started cooking.

I had some vegetables on hand, so I started chopping. Onions, garlic, peppers, zucchini and potatoes went into a pan with olive oil. I added some seasoning, poured in crushed tomatoes and let everything simmer. There wasn’t really a plan. And that was kind of the point.

I’ve always loved what happens when I get lost in cooking. It’s therapeutic. It gives my mind something tangible to focus on. There’s a rhythm to it—chop, sauté, season, stir, taste, adjust. You don’t have to think about everything else for those moments. You just have to pay attention to what’s happening in front of you. For a little while, everything else gets quieter. The problems don’t disappear, but my mind has somewhere else to go.

And that’s important to me.

By the time lunch was ready, I felt different.

The problems hadn’t disappeared. My day hadn’t magically gotten better. But I had gotten better.

Sometimes that’s enough.

While enjoying my lunch, I thought about a recent conversation I had with a friend over dinner. We were talking about traditions and family recipes, and she shared about a dish her family would often make. It wasn’t the recipe itself that stuck with me, but the emotion and passion she shared while describing it. I realized that conversation had helped ignite the spark for the dish I had just made.

I texted her to tell her.

Her response?

“YOU MADE GYPSY GRAVY!”

Apparently, I had.

And that became the name.

What I love about Gypsy Gravy is that there really isn’t one way to make it. Add eggplant or beans. Change up the vegetables. I’ve simmered shrimp and scallops in the same tomato base, turning it into something more like a rustic seafood stew. Serve it over pasta or rice, or grab some crusty bread and eat it as a stew.

It’s forgiving. It’s adaptable. You work with what you have.

Maybe that’s another reason I like it so much.

A few weeks later, I had the opportunity to share Gypsy Gravy as part of Cooks Who Care’s Food Is Therapy series. What started as a recipe created on a difficult workday had come full circle. I wasn’t there simply to demonstrate how to make a tomato-based vegetable dish. I was there to talk about what happens when we give ourselves permission to step away from the noise, breathe, and get lost in something we love.

Eight people gathered around the kitchen that day. We cooked, we shared the meal, and we shared stories.

And somewhere between the cooking and the conversation, I was reminded that the recipe was never really the point.

The kitchen doesn’t fix everything.

But sometimes it gives us the space we need to come back to ourselves.

That’s what Gypsy Gravy has come to mean to me—a simple dish born out of a not-so-great day that somehow became part of a much bigger story about food, connection, and finding a little room to breathe.

And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty darn good.

Gypsy Gravy

Serves 4

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced or diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 zucchini, diced
• ¼ cup potatoes, peeled and diced (frozen potatoes can be used)
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 fresh sprig of basil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the bell pepper, potatoes and zucchini. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well and sauté for another 5–7 minutes.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes. Add the oregano, Italian seasoning and whole sprig of basil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fork-tender.

Remove the basil sprig and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crusty Italian bread as a hearty vegetable stew, or spoon over cooked rice or your favorite pasta.

And then make it your own.

That’s really the beauty of Gypsy Gravy.

Stuck on Simmer: A Kitchen Therapy Story

Every so often, schedules change, plans get canceled, or maybe you simply find yourself with nothing to do. I never mind a little downtime—we can all use some peace and quiet—but I often end up spending those quiet moments in the kitchen. As many of you know, cooking is therapeutic for me. It lets me get lost in a passion I enjoy while creating something new: a meal, a seasonal treat, and, if all goes well, a new blog post.

I recently found myself in one of those quiet moments. Jules was out for the night, Ava was settling into her new college dorm, and while my dog Theo is a great listener, conversation with him is usually limited.

My first thought was to make one of the dinner recipes I save for solo nights, usually because it includes ingredients my girls aren’t particularly into. Then I remembered the signed edition of Big Heart Little Stove I had recently bought by one of my favorite chefs, Erin French.

What better time to try one of her recipes?

Recipe Roulette

Because I had extra time and wanted to have some fun in the kitchen, I decided to play Recipe Roulette. Instead of searching through the book for a recipe that sounded appealing, I opened to a random page and committed to whatever I found.

The result was Erin’s Old-Fashioned Apple Walnut Cake, and my mood lifted immediately.

I’m not much of a cake maker. I prefer the artistic freedom of cooking to the precision of baking. But this recipe was exactly what I needed: autumn-inspired ingredients, clear steps, and enough structure to help me settle into the quiet night.

When Life Gets Stuck on Simmer

For someone who does not usually flaunt his baking skills, I have to say this cake was damn amazing.

Unfortunately, Erin French does not have this exact recipe available online, and it wouldn’t be right for me to share it here. But this post was never really about the recipe.

It was about finding a little creative spark when your mood is stuck on simmer.

That spark doesn’t have to come from the kitchen. It could be a puzzle, a book, a journal entry, a walk, or even finally tackling that closet you keep pretending not to see.

So, if you find yourself in a funk, don’t let it simmer too long. Turn up the music, get a little funky, shake off those bluesy vibes, and who knows?

You might just come out of it with a clearer head, a happier heart, and a sweet little victory cooling on the counter.