Saturday, November 19, 2011

Weekend Cooking...Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Autumn is upon us and shortly American will be celebrating Thanksgiving.
This Thursday in fact. But a few of us will be otherwise occupied Thursday...I will be working. So sad.
But I will have my little Thanksgiving. I will just have it today, Saturday. A small gathering, just myself, my brother and SIL.
And Sammy of course.
Oh, he is so cute.

There will be all the foods that we had on the table when I was a kid, because that is what you do on Thanksgiving. Turkey and stuffing, peas and mashed rutabagas, creamed cauliflower, and Pillsbury Crescent rolls.
And Brussels Sprouts!

My father was from Ireland and in Ireland many of the hearty vegetables are king..because there do not get a great deal of hot weather. Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rutabagas and Brussels sprouts are popular, so they were often on our dinner table. Often.
But my brother did not eat vegetables. Well, corn and peas but that was it.
I well remember one night when I was about 5. We were having Brussels sprouts for dinner and, of course, the bro refused to eat his. So my father said we would not leave the table until he ate at least one.
My mother attempted a bribe. 25 cents to eat one. No way!
There were dramatics, there were raised voices and I thought we would be there until eternity.

The brother won and those Brussels sprouts lived to see another day.
We will see if he eats any of these today.
Maybe Sammy will have one.
Or maybe not.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BACON

from Katharine Marsh, of The Breslin, NYC

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
2 medium white onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
Kosher salt
1 pound Brussels sprouts, tough outer leaves removed and trimmed
4 ounces slab bacon, cut into medium cubes (about 1/4 cup)
5 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 medium lemon
Flaky sea salt
Crushed red chile flakes

1. In a large skillet set over low heat, heat the olive oil. Add the
onions, a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until
the onions are sweet and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Remove
from the heat and set aside.

2. In a large stockpot, blanch the Brussels sprouts in salted, boiling
water until bright green and just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove
the Brussels sprouts from the water and set aside to cool. Cut
some of the larger Brussels sprouts in half but leave the smaller
ones whole.

3. In a medium skillet set over medium heat, cook the bacon,
stirring occasionally, until it is crisp on all sides, about 5 minutes.
Pour off the excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Add the halved
Brussels sprouts cut side down to the pan and cook without
stirring over medium heat until the sprouts are tender and nicely
caramelized. Add the remaining sprouts to the pan and cook until
browned, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the caramelized onions
and sage. Finish the dish with a few drops of freshly squeezed
lemon juice, sea salt, chile flakes and a drizzle of olive oil, all to
taste.
Serve immediately.


 




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


25 comments:

  1. We're huge Brussels sprouts fans here and nothing better than when they're roasted. I hadn't yet thought of Thursday's vegetable, but you've convinced me -- I'm going to roast these beautiful green gems.

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  2. We love Brussels sprouts and having bacon with them would be an added bonus. I need to try this!

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  3. I'd have had your brother's portion, they look so good. We love Brussels Sprouts, especially with bacon!

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  4. hmm thats funny, i remember the same situation in my childhood.

    back when we used to have sunday dinners in the cramped dining room before addition, i remember gaging on one! perhaps he was trying to inflict his trauma on me. :(

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  5. btw i really wish i was there but i have an exam monday and also a project due on tuesday. modeling foundation deflection -______________-, you think about the (lack of) fun i am having over here when you and same and everyone dine in happiness.

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  6. This recipe sounds great! I will be pinning it so I can try it sometime. Thanks for posting!

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  7. I'll tell my daughter about this. She's a fan. I'm with your brother. (And I can't believe the lengths people go to in order to convince someone to eat something!)

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  8. I can remember a similar incident from my childhood, too! Have never even tried brussels sprouts and am not inclined to change ;-)

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  9. come on! they are good...and so good for you!!

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  10. Brussels Sprouts is my husband's favorite vegetable. They are not mine so he cooks them to suit his tastes. He has a variety of methods and I'll pass this one on to him. I had a childhood food-standoff. Mine was with bread pudding. It stuck with me. I have never in all my years touched the stuff.

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  11. i was here earlier and left a comment about how much I love roasted Brussels sprouts. They are often on our holiday table.

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  12. I always felt that brussel sprouts got a bad rep from cooks who felt they needed to boil for ages before being ready. That just made them bitter. Tender crisp is a much tastier approach. Your recipe makes me want to eat some right now. Thanks.

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  13. One last time and I give up. Not sure why my comments are disappearing today. We love brussels sprouts and roasted sprouts are often on our holiday table.

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  14. The way to improve many foods is with bacon or cheese :)

    How did these go over? They look delicious to me!

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  15. I actually love brussel sprouts. I have only steamed them in the past. I just might have to try this recipe. Thanks.

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  16. I had brussel sprouts once and that was enough for me. I hated them! I swear your mother and mine were soul sisters!

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  17. Oh, no! Not sprouts! My hubby loves them and I always have a few in the freezer that I have blanched for him.

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  18. We had sprouts tonight for dinner! My husband and I that is, the kids won't touch it. I'm sure they will later and I'm not going to force them.

    I like this recipe, thanks!

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  19. We love roasted brussel sprouts at our house. Luckily I don't have to pay anyone to eat them!

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  20. it seems the poor sprouts are still divisive..lol

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  21. Reading this, I hope you had a fun dinner and your brother did eat a sprout, I remembered one time after mom went back to work fulltime and my sister and I 'hotted' up dinner (mom prepared everything the night before so all we had to do was turn on the oven or light under the pot at a specific time) it was my sister's turn to 'cook' .. brussel sprouts, frozen, were on the 'menu' .. she read the back of the Birdeye's package and cooked them ...however she misread the amount of salt to add to the boiling water .. lets just say they tasted as if they'd been soaked in brine!!!!! I dont think anyone ate those salty sprouts.

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  22. for all who have wondered, yes The Bro ate some sprouts. He has come a long way, food wise since those days.
    But I do think he liked the pecan pie better.

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  23. Three cheers to the Bro for eating his sprouts! LOL!

    I'm glad you had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with your loved ones and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday even though you have to work.

    I have Brussels sprouts in my fridge right this second and was planning on cooking them tonight. I actually have all of the ingredients to make this dish so I'm going to give your recipe a try! I will halve the recipe though because I think I have less than a pound of sprouts.

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  24. I'm one of those weirdos that actually loves Brussel Sprouts - in season. Have you tried them with maple syrup and dijon mustard? Delicious.

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