Brussel Sprouts - How do YOU make them edible?

and don't forget about beet chips

yum ... click

oooo...beet chips! sounds interesting. Have you made them?

I'm going to have to send Mr. M over to the Hamburgers'.

Re: Brussel Sprouts - How do YOU make them edible?
The only way I ever tolerated them was in a tasty little vegetable tempura. I can't stand the taste or even the smell of those disgusting little cabbage styled orbs.

Re: Brussel Sprouts - How do YOU make them edible?


Sturgis, I thought that wya too until last night. They don't taste cabbagy at all. They taste more like asparagus crossed with broccoli. Come on, give them a second chance.

made 'em once - would definitely do it again - with more dips

root veggies generally make nice chips

Rutabagas make excellent "french fries" cut into strips, tossed in oil, and baked in the oven.

Swimpy,

Found this recipe in this month's Cooks Country magazine and thought I'd share it with you:

Braised Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Pecans
Serves 8 to 10


8 strips bacon , chopped
2 large shallots , chopped fine
2 cloves garlic , minced
2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts , trimmed and halved through stem ends
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup pecans , toasted and chopped

1. Fry bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off excess grease but do not wipe skillet clean.

2. Cook shallots in same skillet over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Toss Brussels sprouts with shallots and garlic, add broth, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, tossing once or twice, until paring knife can be inserted into sprouts without resistance, 13 to 18 minutes.

4. Stir in thyme, vinegar, butter, reserved bacon, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle pecans on top. Serve immediately.

Love brussel sprouts in a hearty winter soup. With potatoes, cumin, and kale mostly... We cook the devil out of them, but we're Eastern European. We like our vegetables to be properly dead before we eat'em.

Thanks, butterflynet. That sounds pretty tasty.

LOL dag. We midwesterners (myself not included) like our meat dead, too.

Since I last posted, I bought some more brussel sprouts, but this time from my local supermarket. I cooked them the same way. They were bad. They tasted like I remembered them, very bitter. I think the only way to go is locally grown when it comes to brussel sprouts.

If possible, buy them on the stalk - and the tinier the better.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the NYTimes recently

Adapted from "The Union Square Cafe Cookbook," by Michael Romano and Danny Meyer
Time: 25 minutes

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus grated zest of 1 lemon
2 pounds brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons black mustard seeds or poppy seeds
¼ cup dry white wine or vermouth
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Place lemon juice in a large bowl. Cut bottoms off sprouts, and discard. Halve sprouts lengthwise, and thinly slice them crosswise. The slices toward the stem end should be thinner, to help pieces cook evenly. As you work, transfer slices into bowl with lemon juice. When all sprouts are sliced toss them in juice and separate leaves. (Recipe can be prepared to this point and refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 hours.)

2. When ready to serve, heat oil and butter over high heat in a skillet large enough to hold all sprouts. When very hot add sprouts, garlic and seeds, and cook, stirring often, until sprouts are wilted and lightly cooked, but still bright green and crisp, about 4 minutes. Some leaves might brown slightly.

3. Add wine, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Turn off heat, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the lemon zest, reserving a little for top of dish. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with remaining zest and serve.

Yield: 10 servings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/151grex.html

That one sounds good. Regarding buying sprounts on the stalks: I've never seen t em that way around here.

Seriously?

It's worth checking the farmer's markets for them. Do you have a CSA in your area?

we can buy sprouts-on-the-stalk at the local farmers' market and by stopping at some of the farm produce stands in the area .
you can keep sprouts-on-the-stalk for a couple of weeks by just hanging them in a shed - they'll become tastier once they've had some frost .
hbg

If it isn't in a cardboard box or sealed in plastic wrap, it isn't available in U.S. supermarkets. If it is available, it tastes like the cardboard box and looks like plastic.

Seriously. Not at the farmer's market either. I belong to a CSA. That's how I got the good brussel sprouts. They came off the stalk. Must be a local thing.

I wonder if your CSA thinks people won't know what to do with sprouts still on the stalk.

Tell 'em that you'd prefer them on the stalk in the future. It'd be less work for them and they'd probably oblige you.

You're so lucky.

The one CSA that used to supply Toronto stopped coming into town.

This is my first year with this CSA. All of the veggies we get from them are cleaned and packed in plastic bags. I would be wiling to do my own cleaning, especially if they would lower their prices

They're on the stalk in north north California, but not here in nowhere veggies' ville, except for the pepper kingdom.

I'm not so sure they wouldn't work here, if anyone thought of it,

Brussel Sprouts with Apples and Bacon
This one is yummy. Brussel Sprouts with Apples and Bacon