OOPS, I did it again (apologies to Brittany Spears!). I cooked Brussels Sprouts (recipe below). I keep trying to like them. I try hard and repetitively because I know they're good for me. Also, they are the only vegetable I can think of that I don't like. I love cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, squash and beans of every possible variation, leafy greens, you name it, if it grew on a plant I probably like it. Except for Brussels Sprouts.
Why is this an issue, you may very well (and very logically) ask? Honestly, I'm not sure except that it feels like some sort of weird personal failure that I can't like Brussels Sprouts. So I keep on keeping on, doing my best and trying to like them.Why is this so important to me? I have no idea, but someone, please make me stop!
The most recent Brussels Sprouts Episode was last night and it's over, thank goodness. The meatloaf and garlic mashed redskins were mouth-watering. The rolls were fantastic. Tonight I made asparagus, which I absolutely adore in almost any incarnation. I'll post about tonight tomorrow. : )
Friends and acquaintances (yes, even people I really don't know and those I have never even met before somehow feel obligated to convince me to eat Brussels sprouts and love them, if the subject arises. People always say, "oh, you just haven't had them cooked right." I used to believe this.
I have had friends cook them for me. I have ordered them at restaurants where critics raved about them. Over the past 20 years I have been entrusted with more old family recipes for Brussels Sprouts than is decent and I have cooked them all. At first, I bought the explanation that I had just never experienced Brussels Sprouts cooked properly. After all, my parents don't like them, so they didn't show up much during my childhood. When they did, generally at the homes of extended family, I hated them.
Cue the music as many years pass on. . . and I grew up. Sort of. (as a mid-40 person, I'm still working on that - it's kind of complicated, really!), I started liking many things I had previously claimed to hate before I actually tried them for myself. Amazing how that works. At any rate, once I got past about 23 I started trying Brussels Sprouts periodically, convinced I would like them at some point.
Now, not to toot my own horn (OK, I am totally tooting my own horn) but I am a more than decent cook. I love cooking, I love the creativity and the chemistry. It's fun and I love good food, so it kind of just fits together. Nevertheless, I have yet to find a Brussels Sprouts recipe that makes them more than somewhat bearable, including the ones I've made up on my own (tonight was another one of those and it was bearable - eh. I just REALLY hate the way they taste.).
Obviously, this is an issue for me. Brussels Sprouts = Waterloo for me. Apparently, I just cannot get past it.
So, that's it, the saga of the Brussels Sprout. I'd like to say I'm just going to quit trying and accept that I don't like them, but I probably won't, I just don't think I'm there yet.
I'll wait a while and then, somewhere, somehow, feel obligated to try Brussels Sprouts again. We might be up near Traverse City at Red Ginger (one of our favorites) or in Grand Rapids at Grove or The Green Well and they will have some fabulous concoction involving Brussels Sprouts on special. Maybe we'll be in Chicago, DC or San Francisco.
Regardless of where it happens, I already know I won't be able to resist giving them a try. That is already a certainty. How sad that I know this will happen. I will miss trying some fabulous dish that sounds innovative and fabulous because I will feel obligated to try to like Brussels Sprouts.
Maybe, who knows, I'll actually like them! I it could happen! Really, it could!
That is why I keep trying them, on my own and at fabulous restaurants. Maybe, sometime, I will put them in my mouth and say, "OMG, these are incredible! I've been missing so much!"
Yeah, probably not.
The photo above are some of the iactual Brussels Sprouts I cooked last night. They looked beautiful and smelled fantastic. My son who hates vegetables on general principles thought they were pretty good. I was SO excited to try them. I did. They were edible.
I just REALLY don't like Brussels Sprouts.
For those who absolutely must know, this is what I did to the Brussels Sprouts last night.
Desperately Trying to Like Brussels Sprouts Recipe
I started with about a pound of good, fresh Brussels sprouts. I cut off the ends, pulled off dead leaves, washed & dried them, etc. The usual prep stuff for veggies.
After washing thoroughly, I dried them off and put them in a gallon plastic bag. I added about 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kosher Salt (about 2 - 3 TBS and about 1 TSP Freshly Ground Pepper. Then they went onto an sheet of aluminum foil pressed into a cookie sheet (I put foil down for almost EVERYTHING. It is SO much easier to clean up!).
I roasted them in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, then I stirred them around and put them back in for about another 15 minutes or so - until they were barely fork tender.
Then I pulled them out and covered them with a bunch of garlic butter*, Parmesan and probably about 2 Tsp of Thai Chili-Garlic Sauce and a dash of balsamic vinegar. I then sprinkled them liberally, again, with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt.
*I crushed 4 bulbs of garlic in 1/2 cup of butter. This is my normal garlic bread ratio. If you don't like garlic just go away. Seriously. If you don't like garlic we will not have anything in common, just go away.
Anyhow, after totally smothering the Brussels Sprouts in the garlic butter mixture, I sprinkled them yet again with more kosher salt and freshly grated pepper. Then, I sprinkled them with freshly grated Parmesan.
Then the pan went back into the 400 degree oven for another 5-7 minutes. When they smelled absolutely "to die for" delicious and the Parmesan was golden brown and bubbling, I pulled them out.
The Parmesan was fabulous. My views on Brussels Sprouts have not been independently verified, so, I can't really review them impartially. I thought they were edible, but my son who hates vegetables (but not, apparently, Brussels Sprouts, thought they were good. He not only ate them, he took seconds.So, draw your own conclusions.).
I still don't like Brussels Sprouts.
Why can't I just accept this and move on?
Seriously?!!
Why is this an issue, you may very well (and very logically) ask? Honestly, I'm not sure except that it feels like some sort of weird personal failure that I can't like Brussels Sprouts. So I keep on keeping on, doing my best and trying to like them.Why is this so important to me? I have no idea, but someone, please make me stop!
The most recent Brussels Sprouts Episode was last night and it's over, thank goodness. The meatloaf and garlic mashed redskins were mouth-watering. The rolls were fantastic. Tonight I made asparagus, which I absolutely adore in almost any incarnation. I'll post about tonight tomorrow. : )
Friends and acquaintances (yes, even people I really don't know and those I have never even met before somehow feel obligated to convince me to eat Brussels sprouts and love them, if the subject arises. People always say, "oh, you just haven't had them cooked right." I used to believe this.
I have had friends cook them for me. I have ordered them at restaurants where critics raved about them. Over the past 20 years I have been entrusted with more old family recipes for Brussels Sprouts than is decent and I have cooked them all. At first, I bought the explanation that I had just never experienced Brussels Sprouts cooked properly. After all, my parents don't like them, so they didn't show up much during my childhood. When they did, generally at the homes of extended family, I hated them.
 |
| I was the one silently praying the Brussels Sprouts never made it to me or that my Aunt wouldn't notice if I didn't eat them. She always did. |
Cue the music as many years pass on. . . and I grew up. Sort of. (as a mid-40 person, I'm still working on that - it's kind of complicated, really!), I started liking many things I had previously claimed to hate before I actually tried them for myself. Amazing how that works. At any rate, once I got past about 23 I started trying Brussels Sprouts periodically, convinced I would like them at some point.
Now, not to toot my own horn (OK, I am totally tooting my own horn) but I am a more than decent cook. I love cooking, I love the creativity and the chemistry. It's fun and I love good food, so it kind of just fits together. Nevertheless, I have yet to find a Brussels Sprouts recipe that makes them more than somewhat bearable, including the ones I've made up on my own (tonight was another one of those and it was bearable - eh. I just REALLY hate the way they taste.).
So, that's it, the saga of the Brussels Sprout. I'd like to say I'm just going to quit trying and accept that I don't like them, but I probably won't, I just don't think I'm there yet.
I'll wait a while and then, somewhere, somehow, feel obligated to try Brussels Sprouts again. We might be up near Traverse City at Red Ginger (one of our favorites) or in Grand Rapids at Grove or The Green Well and they will have some fabulous concoction involving Brussels Sprouts on special. Maybe we'll be in Chicago, DC or San Francisco.
Regardless of where it happens, I already know I won't be able to resist giving them a try. That is already a certainty. How sad that I know this will happen. I will miss trying some fabulous dish that sounds innovative and fabulous because I will feel obligated to try to like Brussels Sprouts.
Maybe, who knows, I'll actually like them! I it could happen! Really, it could!
That is why I keep trying them, on my own and at fabulous restaurants. Maybe, sometime, I will put them in my mouth and say, "OMG, these are incredible! I've been missing so much!"
Yeah, probably not.
The photo above are some of the iactual Brussels Sprouts I cooked last night. They looked beautiful and smelled fantastic. My son who hates vegetables on general principles thought they were pretty good. I was SO excited to try them. I did. They were edible.
I just REALLY don't like Brussels Sprouts.
For those who absolutely must know, this is what I did to the Brussels Sprouts last night.
Desperately Trying to Like Brussels Sprouts Recipe
I started with about a pound of good, fresh Brussels sprouts. I cut off the ends, pulled off dead leaves, washed & dried them, etc. The usual prep stuff for veggies.
After washing thoroughly, I dried them off and put them in a gallon plastic bag. I added about 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kosher Salt (about 2 - 3 TBS and about 1 TSP Freshly Ground Pepper. Then they went onto an sheet of aluminum foil pressed into a cookie sheet (I put foil down for almost EVERYTHING. It is SO much easier to clean up!).
I roasted them in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, then I stirred them around and put them back in for about another 15 minutes or so - until they were barely fork tender.
Then I pulled them out and covered them with a bunch of garlic butter*, Parmesan and probably about 2 Tsp of Thai Chili-Garlic Sauce and a dash of balsamic vinegar. I then sprinkled them liberally, again, with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt.
*I crushed 4 bulbs of garlic in 1/2 cup of butter. This is my normal garlic bread ratio. If you don't like garlic just go away. Seriously. If you don't like garlic we will not have anything in common, just go away.
Anyhow, after totally smothering the Brussels Sprouts in the garlic butter mixture, I sprinkled them yet again with more kosher salt and freshly grated pepper. Then, I sprinkled them with freshly grated Parmesan.
Then the pan went back into the 400 degree oven for another 5-7 minutes. When they smelled absolutely "to die for" delicious and the Parmesan was golden brown and bubbling, I pulled them out.
The Parmesan was fabulous. My views on Brussels Sprouts have not been independently verified, so, I can't really review them impartially. I thought they were edible, but my son who hates vegetables (but not, apparently, Brussels Sprouts, thought they were good. He not only ate them, he took seconds.So, draw your own conclusions.).
I still don't like Brussels Sprouts.
Why can't I just accept this and move on?
Seriously?!!
