I love Brussels Sprouts. First of all they are so adorable – miniature cabbages right out of someone’s doll house kitchen. Cute is usually a selling point, afterall. Then they are very good for you – that should get them some points with the health conscious adult crowd, but it doesn’t seem to. Brussels Sprouts are a hard sell and believe me I should know – I’ve been trying to get my friends and family to eat them every Thanksgiving for years now.
Until recently I couldn’t even understand how anyone could not like Brussels Sprouts. Then I had some dreadfully over cooked ones. Brussels Sprouts that had been boiled whole. It makes me a little queasy just remembering the moment. Those cute little sprouts had managed to keep their delightful shape so I was unsuspecting when I popped one in my mouth. I froze instantly. I couldn’t spit it out, but I so desperately wanted to. It was a soft Brussels mush - very sad and very unpleasant. I have learned through this difficult experience, and I believe I am a better person for it. No wonder people have such an aversion to Brussels Sprouts – they’ve never met a real Brussels Sprout in their lives. All they’ve ever seen on their plate and been forced to eat are overcooked boiled ones.
Here’s how I cook them for Thanksgiving. It is beautifully simple and wonderfully delicious and if you are so lucky as to have any leftover (I make extra on purpose just so I will) they are wonderful the next day cold.
Brussels Sprouts
Microwave
Large frying pan, preferably non-stick (or cast iron)
1-2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
Wash Brussels Sprouts, cut off their stems and remove outer leaves.
Slice each sprout in half
Place them cut side down on a microwave safe plate.
Microwave until they are bright green, and still crisp – just barely steamed. (I won't give you a time estimate for this - every microwave is so different. Just remember to err on the side of caution and don't go overcooking them.)
Heat large frying pan on stove until quite hot – 2 minutes.
Sprinkle pan with sugar
Toss Brussels Sprouts in hot frying pan with sugar for about 1 minute.
Pour Sprouts into serving bowl and bring to the table.
They will look beautiful, a bright green accent amid the muted shades of stuffing and mashed potatoes and they will taste crisp and a little sweet.
You’ll find yourself wondering how anyone could not like a Brussels Sprout.
4 comments:
We're going to try it - I remember those brussel sprouts! Yum.. The Casey influence will be all over our table on Thursday!
I tried the brussels sprouts recipe and it was good but I had a problem because of my lack of knowledge of cooking stuff with the microwave. I had no idea how long to microwave the sprouts. I tried 2 minutes, then another minute then another 30 seconds. I served them and then they had to go back to the microwave. For someone with no knowledge, a range of time 4-6 minutes might have been helpful.
I have to admit that giving a cooking time range when a microwave is concerned scares me a little bit. I'd hate for someone with a super powerful applicance to zap their sprouts to mushy oblivion on the first try.
On the other hand I can see that giving no range was not helpful.
So, here's what I will say: Cook in 2 minute increments. You might need 2 - maybe somebody else will need 4 increments.
How should they look when they are done? Their color should be bright green. A fork or a sharp knife should be able to penetrate to the center with less resistance than when they were raw, but it shouldn't be too soft. You may need to pull one apart and/or eat one or two while you are cooking them - that is a surer indication than any range I might give.
The other option, of course, is to put them in a steamer basket and steam them on the stove top until they are bright green and tender, but not soft - let's say 4-8 minutes.
I opt for the microwave on Thanksgiving only because my stovetop is already pretty crowded and all of my saucepans are used up.
The recipe works; it's the chef that makes all the difference! I microwaved them for 5 minutes which seemed perfect, the sugar saute didn't go as well - Madeleine was helping me with the gravy and we had a major boil over on the stove so I neglected the sprouts for about a minute which caused some to get really soft and slightly browned. My only tense moment in the Thanksgiving prep and they still got eaten so all in all a great culinary feat considering!
Post a Comment