Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Feta

We have a winner from Thursday's giveaway!

Thanks all for linking up!  Speaking of Thanksgiving…

I'm going to be blatantly honest here:  I felt kinda sick on Thanksgiving.  I had a sore throat and generally yucky feeling.  Therefore, the idea of eating Brussels sprouts…well, it doesn't sit well with me.  I honestly don't know if I'd be willing to eat them again, simply because we relate memories/feelings to food.  However, Scott loves them…and some of you do too.  I think that this recipe needs to be shared simply because it's a festive way to prepare these little mini cabbages (That's just what they look like to me).

I never had Brussels sprouts before this Thanksgiving and when I asked Scott if he'd ever had them, he looked at me like I was crazy.  Apparently, he used to buy frozen steam-in-bag Brussels sprouts all the time.  In college, when he lived on his own, etc.  I do find it interesting that, after 5 years of marriage, I never actually knew this.

Everyone always talks about how they're trying to get past their childhood's version of Brussels sprouts.  I suppose some of your parents used to boil sprouts and make you eat them?  Mine never did. I'm assuming that this may be because they themselves don't like this particular vegetable because, goodness knows, they tortured me with everything else they could find:  tuna, beets, meatloaf.  Blech.

So I went into this recipe without any Brussels sprouts background and, really now, I only set the smoke alarm off once, so I suppose we can count it as a success.

I think this would make a perfect side dish for Christmas or any fancy holiday meals you have coming up.  Roasting them really brings out the flavor makes the edges nice and crispy.  I used convection to roast so, after the smoke alarm went off, I switched to a much lower degree setting.  I would go with 400 degrees for a conventional oven or 300-350 on convection.

I thought the outside leaves were crispy and yummy.  To actually eat a plate of Brussels sprouts…well, I don't know if I'm there yet.

Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry and Feta
makes 4-6 servings (depending on how much you like Brussels sprouts)

20 Brussels sprouts, halved
Olive oil
Sea salt

3/4 cup craisins
3/4 cup crumbled feta

After washing, drying, and halving your sprouts, toss them in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast for about 20 minutes (see above temperatures).  You're looking for the outer leaves to be golden brown and crispy.  Let cool.  Toss them into a serving dish with craisins and feta (or any other kind of fancy cheese) and serve warm.