You know you are a grown-up

[owlmoose]

When the scent of roasted brussels sprouts causes an instant and unstoppable craving. I could smell them in the hallway yesterday, and it smelled so good that we bought some at the store last night and cooked them up tonight (along with a roast chicken). Just cut them in half, toss them in salt, olive oil, and a little water, put them on a cookie sheet, and bake -- first covered to steam them, then uncovered for browning. Voila: delicious little bits of roasted vegetable heaven. I have a recipe to roast them with bacon and pecans, which is super yummy, but the simple way is good, too.

Brussels sprouts are a recent discovery for me, only within the last few years -- there's a restaurant in San Francisco that makes them when they're in season, and the first time I was there with friends and we ordered them, we ended up having to get a second bath, they were so good. But it was only last winter that I decided to take a hand at cooking them myself, and so far it's been a resounding success. I only wish we could get good ones all year; I don't like very many vegetables, so finding a new one I can happily eat is always a victory.

Comments

[iamshadow]

OMG, I am right there with you on the recently-acquired sprout love. We found a recipe for roasting them, and that's what we do, now, when they're in season. Halved, salt, pepper, olive oil, 180C, fifteen or so minutes, turn, fifteen more, done. I love how crispy they go on the outside, where the outer leaves colour up.

[stealth_noodle]

One of my friends slices them up and sautees them in olive oil, then tosses them with roasted walnuts and dried cranberries. MAGIC.

I am also somewhat weird in that I loved brussel sprouts even as a child.

[owlmoose]

Yes! We are still working on getting the right temperature to roast them to a crisp without burning the cut bottoms; maybe a turn is the right idea. We have to be careful with heat, though, because any oven hotter than about 400F and the blast of hot air when we open it sets off our smoke alarm.

[owlmoose]

Ooh, that sounds really good.

I couldn't even abide the sight of them when I was young, but then I'd only ever had them boiled. Roasting makes all the difference.

[moonbathe_skin]

Oh, I have never baked them! I steam them generally.

[sarasa_cat]

Mmmmmmm!!!

Roasted is the yummiest (IMO), although sautéed with bacon (!) is always good. My mouth is watering reading all of the comments here. :)