Fungi and such: a lifelong obsession

I don't know if I actually remember this, or if I've just heard my parents talk about it so much that I feel like I remember it, but one of my earliest memories of food is having mushroom pizza dates at Sir Pizza with my dad...when I was about 3 or so. I've never been a picky eater, and my dad has always LOVED this about me, so he's spent a lot of time over the years feeding me and supporting my adventurous eating habits. And mushrooms are one of my favorites (they are one of Mama Payne's LEAST favorites, which is why she was not invited on these daddy-daughter dates).

So when I Pinterested across this recipe for balsamic roasted mushrooms, I was ALL in. And I wanted Brussels sprouts, too.

If you've never had Brussels sprouts straight off the stalk, I suggest you stop what you're doing and scoot your behind over to Trader Joe's, my mecca and all-around happy place, and get you some. But that's neither here nor there. Once I got these lovely sprouts on the stalk, the question remained: roast them separately as usual, or roast them together with the mushrooms with balsamic?

Since togetherness is a big theme around here lately, what with, you know, us getting married and all, we decided it would be just fine to throw everything on the same cookie sheet and roast it all together.

Thankfully, it proved to be as good a merger as our impending nuptials. I wouldn't change a thing, except possibly to add some red pepper flakes to give it a sweet and spicy kick. Check out the original mushroom-only recipe above, or see the happy combination below.

Balsamic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

Ingredients:
one stalk Brussels sprouts
one package mushrooms (I used cremini)
2 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons.
4 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
4-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Wash and halve the mushrooms and sprouts. Place on foil-lined cookie sheet.
Toss with 2 tablespoons oil until everything is well-coated. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Roast for 15 minutes.
While veggies are roasting, mince garlic. Remove thyme leaves from stem and roughly chop.
Mix thyme and garlic with the olive oil and vinegar.
Take veggies out of the oven at end of 15 minutes.
Pour Balsamic mixture over the veggies and mix to coat well.
Put back into oven to roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until they've reached your level of done-ness.
Enjoy!