Last month as I was trying to think of ideas for February's VOTM, I started asking around for ideas. I asked friends, yoga instructors, gym rats, preschool parents, neighbors, blogging friends, etc. Then it occurred to me...I need to ask my husband! My cooking selections directly affect his nightly dinner plate so what better person is there to pick our next Vegetable of the Month.
Well guess what he picked...Brussel Sprouts! Next time I won't be so nice as to include him on the decision making. Kidding of course. I can definitively say that not once has a brussel sprout ever crossed my lips. And I am proud to say, after dinner tonight it is definitely a vegetable that I'm looking forward to having 2 more times in the next 2 weeks. (As a reminder, my goal is to cook the VOTM 3 times in 3 different ways all in 1 month.)
Can anyone guess my basic cooking method for my Brussel Sprouts Dish #1 that I made tonight? Think back to Kale Dish #1. Yup, you guessed it...with bacon. If I'm going to try a new vegetable, there's a pretty good chance it's going to first be sauteed in a bit of bacon. A little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down.
So if you're interested, here is the recipe for my first ever cooking of this mini cabbage looking vegetable:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-brussels-and-bacon/detail.aspx
(For the record, my changes were to only use a couple pieces of bacon. I skipped the olive oil, and just used the bacon grease already in the pan. I only used 2 shallots. I added a bit of fresh minced garlic, and I used fresh instead of frozen brussel sprouts. Lesson learned - I should have steamed those little suckers for a couple of minutes, and/or cut the larger ones in even smaller pieces.)
Overall, it was a tasty dish. Hubby had 2 helpings. I made it most of the way through my first helping. (That's saying a lot for me.) The girls picked out the bacon from around the weird looking green things.
So there we go! Brussel Sprouts Dish #1, done. And as far as vegetables go, it was a smashing success. My ideas for dishes #2 and #3include oven roasting in salt, pepper and olive oil; sauteing them with mushrooms; and/or pan steaming them with a bit of stock, flavorings, etc. If anyone out there has some tried and trued (and beloved) recipes, please send them my way!
Ever since we discovered them roasted, we haven't turned back. Little olive oil, little salt & pepper and my daughter will eat her weight in brussel sprouts. She just cannot understand how people don't like them!
ReplyDeleteAnother good way I've had them is roasted, then tossed with pecans, bacon bits & blue cheese, topped with another white cheese and then baked until the cheese on top is bubbly. So good.