Brussel Sprouts Love ’em or Hate ’em
Brussel Sprouts. There is no other Christmas food quite so controversial as far as I know. You either love them or hate them. Personally I don’t think it is a proper Christmas dinner without them but there are some in my family who think they are a waste of time.
I have been looking at different recipes to make sprouts delicious. I tried one with balsamic vinegar and sugar made into a glaze to put on the sprouts after they were cooked. I put the heat up high and immediately reduced them too quickly because one moment they began to boil and I carried on with the rest of the meal and when I looked a few seconds later ( I really mean a few seconds) it had reduced so much that it went hard like lollypops on the wooden spoon. So threw that away and tried another recipe which was just balsamic vinegar reduced to a syrup, which I promptly burnt to the bottom of the pan. (It was a real pain scrubbing it off later.)
Having made two messes I decided to put the sprouts in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper and some balsamic vinegar, tossed them around to cover evenly and popped into the oven on high. They came out very tasty. I thought browned sprouts would taste like burnt cabbage, but it did not. They were very acceptable and made a nice change from steamed sprouts. I’m talking about fresh sprouts, by the way, not frozen. yuck.
So I was all set ready to give these a go in my Christmas dinner. However, my Christmas food order arrived today and NO SPROUTS AVAILABLE. It is too late (today is 22nd of Dec.) and I am not going to brave the horrendous crowds so close to Christmas. That was the whole point of ordering online.
Anyway, we will have broccoli instead. Everyone in the family likes that. They really won’t mind, I know, because one year I burnt the sprouts and some members of my family cheered!
This is a Sprout recipe from my sister Fran in California. Sounds delish!
Hi everyone, I have a “killer brussel sprouts” recipe to share; some even asked for seconds. 🙂
4 thick slices bacon, 3T butter, 3 lg shallots sliced into thin rounds, 3 lg garlic cloves minced, 1.5 lb brussel sprouts trimmed & cut into quarters lengthwise (or 1/2s if they’re small – I bought a stem of sprouts & it worked great), 1/2 cup chicken broth, 2T balsamic vinegar, 1/4 t sugar, S&P.
Cook bacon in lg skillet over medium-low heat 10-12 min. Transfer bacon to paper towel. Increase heat to medium. Add butter & shallots, saute until light brown about 5 min. Add garlic, saute 1 min. Add brussel sprouts, saute 3 min. Add broth, cover & cook until crisp-tender 3-5 min. Uncover, cooking off excess liquid. Add vinegar & sugar, cook stirring 2 min. Crumble bacon & add to sprouts. Add S&P. Serves 8+ YUM!!!
– – Fran- –
thank you so much for this recipe Fran it sounds great. Will let you know how I got on next Christmas lol.