The Sprout

Let's face it, the Brussels Sprout gets a bad rap. And yes, it is supposed to be Brussels with a capital B and an "s" on the end...even in the singular. I know this because I looked it up...and because I am a foodie dork :-)

We have all heard the age old stories of how parents made kids eat their Brussels sprouts and how much they resented their parents for such torture and thus swore off all greens until one day as an adult they realized green vegetables actually taste good...except Brussels Sprouts...they would never taste good because they brought back terrible childhood memories. Ok, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but the poor Brussels sprout does get a bad rap and is usually the punch line of the vegetable joke world....if there is such a thing :-)

I must admit, the Brussels sprout has never held much appeal to me. My parents aren't really fans of them and I was one of the lucky kids that wasn't forced to eat them or hide them in a napkin and flush them down the toilet later (yes, I know someone who did this). So, they have just never been on my radar...until now. Because I love to try new things and cook with new foods I was intrigued by this cute little sprout and how I could turn it into something yummy.

On a side note, I have made them in the past and they were a disaster. That was about 2 years ago. That was before Pioneer Woman came into my life.  She opened up the world of the sprout to me :-) I highly recommend trying Brussels sprouts using her recipe, especially for your first time out. She makes this wonderfully yummy balsamic glaze and adds dried cranberries to the mix (bacon is a nice addition as well...but when is bacon not a nice addition to anything?!). Roasting the sprouts gives them a tender inside and crispy outside when cut in half. I have made this recipe twice now and Mike and I actually consumed more of the sprouts than the rest of the meal!

Once you have tried them a few times with the glaze, try them without it and just roast them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. They are equally good. If you like to use the glaze on a regular basis, I recommend cutting the amount of sugar in half. In fact, if it is just 2-3 people I recommend halving the whole recipe. Maybe buy the full amount and cook half one night and half another. This is one of those veggies that doesn't reheat very well.

So, all I can say is try them! I was skeptical myself but they were truly delicious. They might even make up for all that therapy you needed from being forced to eat them as a child :-)  I posted a picture of the Pioneer Woman's recipe below as well as a link to it on her site. You can also find it in her newest cookbook. Happy sprout eating my friends!!

Pioneer Woman Brussels Sprouts