Calling all Brussels sprouts lovers!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t eat steak without Brussels sprouts.

I cook my steak in a pan, meanwhile baking potatoes and putting some water in a separate pan with a steamer. Steam the Brussels sprouts, cut in half, not quarters, for a few minutes. When the steak’s done, I take them out, set it on its plate, then toss some mushrooms, sliced onions, garlic & a little butter into the steak’s pan juice & fry it all until softened & glassy. Add some lemon juice & the steamed Brussels Sprouts, stir 'em around a bit, then add a little cold water & cornstarch mix to make a gravy, or just add some “brown gravy mix” I get at Costco in large spice containers. Stir it into a gravy and put it over the baked potato & steak.

Steak, potato & Brussels sprout bliss.

22

Sooner or later you sprout-haters are going to run out of ammunition, whereas we sproutophiles will still have our little green cannonballs to launch at you and make you run away. Then we just pick 'em back up off the battlefield, wash 'em off, and it’s dinnertime.

I adore Brussels sprouts. At various times in my life I’ve gone a while without them, then will see them in the store, and for the next few weeks I’m an unstoppable lean, green, sprout-eating machine!

I think I’ll buy some tomorrow. Mmmm, Brussels sprouts! Thanks for the reminder, ETF!

23

I peel them and add them to most of my salads. I don’t usually add much of anything to them if I just steam them - no butter, maybe a touch of salt once in a while… I pop 'em in my mouth like popcorn or candy. Yummmm.

I like raw peas in their pods, too. Pods are delicious. I like green things. Green usually means delicious.

24

I love brussel sprouts. Always have. Man, I’ll have to remember the cool tips from this thread next time I score some from the supermarket. Drool!

25

I like sprouts, so do my kids, in fact I get really annoyed when some TV show or whatever does the whole ‘eeeeewww! sprouts!’ thing; I’m convinced that most of the kids who don’t like them only do so because of all the ‘eeeeewww! sprouts!’ propaganda that they get from TV, teachers, sunday school leaders etc.

Anyway… Parboiled, then fried with lardons with cooked sweet chestnuts is my favourite method, but they are also great smothered with a sauce made from cheese and wholegrain mustard.

26

Little baby cabbages! It’s cute food. What’s not to like?

27

Hmmm, brussel sprouts are the only vegetable I don’t like. Maybe it’s a textural thing. However, since I love to try new things, I’m going to give them another chance with some of the recipes you folks posted.

So, the consensus is that they are better served a little crispy rather than cooked until they’re sort of mooshy?

28

The Washington Post had some great brussel sprout recipes a couple of months ago.

I made this one and it was great:

Warm Orange-Ginger Brussels Sprout Slaw)

6 servings

A friend who thought she didn’t like Brussels sprouts was won over by a suggestion from Park Hyatt executive chef Brian McBride. He shredded the sprouts as you would a cabbage for slaw and then sautéed them with ginger and orange. She never made it for me, but the technique and combination of ingredients stayed on my to-do list.

When I got around to making my own version, I was wowed. It’s like a slaw but better. The Brussels sprouts give it a more delicate quality. The orange and ginger flavors really pop, and there’s not a hint of the old-fashioned, cooked-to-death sprouts in this dish.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, stems trimmed, either shredded in a food processor or cut in half and thinly sliced

1-inch piece ginger root, peeled and finely grated

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons water (optional)

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shredded sprouts and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the ginger, orange zest and juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring, until the sprouts are just cooked, 4 to 5 minutes. If the pan gets dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 77 calories, 3 g protein, 8 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g saturated fat, 66 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber

29

Madmonk, I think I started drooling a little bit.

I think the reason I never enjoyed them is that I’ve never had them prepared any other way than steamed or boiled with butter and pepper.

I love cabbage and every thing else under the sun but I think your recipe with be the start of a love affair between me and those little pendulous cabbagey sprouty things. :wink:

30

Great Og, yes! I bet a lot of people who hate Brussels sprouts know them only in their boiled-to-death mushy gray state, which is an abomination unto Julia Child.

A lot of vegetables are better raw or crispy than cooked into submission. Try chopping up broccoli into your salad sometime, for example.

31

S’okay. I wouldn’t pay any attention anyway.

Funny this thread should pop up today. I served Brussels sprouts last night for the first time in months! I’ve been laboring under the assumption that nobody else in the family liked them, but fortunately I was wrong about that. Next time: Onions and ham!

32

I fry my sprouts in a large skillet with bacon grease, stirring frequently until the are dark brown all over, then sprinkle with the crumbled bacon. You can use fresh or frozen sprouts for this. They are not crispy inside this way, but they sure are yummy.

I used to dislike the taste of sprouts until I found this recipe, even though I wanted to like them for their cute mini-cabbage look. It turns out, I just don’t like the boiled to mush taste.

33

I toss them in butter with slivered almonds and sometimes tarragon after a quick steam. Luckily my local supermarket has started stocking “baby brussel sprouts” which are only slightly bigger than a plump grape. They obviously aren’t popular because I regularly get a discounted punnet for 50c. However their size is a real boon because with all the members of the cabbage family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, etc.) the quicker you cook them the better they taste.

34

I lurve them! Alas, Mr. Anachi refers to them as dirt balls. :frowning: Luckily, that doesn’t stop me from cooking up some nice fresh ones for myself. He can eat beans. :wink:

35

It’s not just the texture that suffers: boil any cabbage too long, and the cell walls break down, releasing some nasty-tasting chemicals – including hydrogen sulphide, and if you’ve ever done any chemistry at all in school, you know you don’t want that stinking up the kitchen.

My favourite way of cooking sprouts at the moment is to simply shred them, mix with some finely sliced spring onions, and stir-fry quickly in some toasted sesame oil. You can add a little chinese five-spice powder and soy sauce at the end if you like, but I don’t think it really needs it.

36

Fart Blossoms! ICK!

37

Why use a recipe? Boil 'em till they’re a little bit cooked and toss on a bit of butter.

MMMMMMMMMM.
Sprouts.

38

Hubby and I went out to this cool restaurant recently for our anniversary and I had a “Strawberry and brussell sprout petal salad with tempura goat cheese, pine nuts and a pickled cranberry vinegarette” The sprout ‘petals’ and strawberries were an inspired combination with the sweetness of the berries balancing the bitter in the sprouts. It was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten.

I’m making sprouts for dinner tonight.

39

Okay, well, I must admit you’ve got a point there.

40

My new favorite involves cutting the sprouts in half, then tossing them in a plastic bag with olive oil, salt and pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little nutmeg. Lay the sprouts cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 375-400 until a knife goes through easily, about 10-15 minutes depending on size. I’ve converted sprout skeptics with this one.