Trouble with a capital “T”
The Official MI Husband is catching a Knicks game in the city tonight with one of his friends, so I’m on my own for a few hours. Because we rarely spend evenings apart, I always take full advantage when the situation presents itself by cooking foods from his No Fly list. Thankfully, said list is small, but topping it is the dreaded Brussels sprout. Never again shall a Brussels sprout pass his lips, nor shall it befoul the air around him! — so he has decreed. It must’ve been a particularly bad childhood experience. My own family was sprout-agnostic, so I never even tried them until Thanksgiving two years ago. Paula had roasted them in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and I nearly ate my weight in those little gems that day.
I’d been following the Epicurious recipe more-or-less since then (deglazing with balsamic vinegar instead of water), but then I ran across a recipe from the incomparable Orangette that wouldn’t let me go. The thought of cream-simmered sprouts worked its way into my imagination until I became consumed with trying it in my very own kitchen. Did I say consumed? I meant obsessed. But Gil was annoyingly AROUND all the TIME and I just couldn’t manage it.
Until tonight. Moo-hoo-hoo…
Not wanting to waste my chance to get this right, I added the cream component to my original recipe and ended up with something so rich and delicious that I can only thank the gods Gil is home nearly every night — I’d weigh a ton if he wasn’t. The cream cooked down to a thick, silky sauce that caressed each sprout and the bacon was content to let the other ingredients shine, just coming to the forefront with a smoky, chewy bite every now and then. I mean, honestly — I had to stop myself from licking the still-hot roasting pan, thus preserving my dignity and the integrity of my tongue.
[Ordinarily I'd air out the house right about now, but Gil's car still smells of his White Manna run from two days ago, so I think he'll survive this brush with Brussels.]
recipe after the jump
You Won’t Be Skinny for Long Brussels Sprouts adapted from Epicurious and Orangette
10 oz. Brussels sprouts
1 slice smoked bacon
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter small roasting pan (my 9-inch oval Le Creuset gratin dish was perfect for this, but a standard-sized cake pan would work just as well) and set aside. Whisk together cream and mustard in a small bowl and set aside.
Trim Brussels sprouts, removing stalk end and quartering lengthwise. Coarsely chop bacon.
Cook bacon in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until fat renders and bacon begins to brown. Add Brussels sprouts to pan and toss to coat in fat. Add 1/8 teaspoon of salt and black pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until sprouts begin to caramelize on the cut sides, about 5 minutes.
Add cream and mustard mixture to pan and stir until it’s just heated through. Pour contents of pan into buttered roasting dish and bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cream has condensed to a thick blanket around the sprouts.
Dust lightly with cayenne pepper before serving.
Serves 2 as a side dish or 1 as the only thing you’ll eat all evening. And now I need to work on making a lower-calorie version of this dish. If any of you have suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them.
“It must’ve been a particularly bad childhood experience.”
Hey Amy – I’m not sayng there were no bad childhood experiences, but tasting brussel sprouts is not among them – it happens to be my favorite green vegetable (my brother and I used to argue about who gets more) but every time I made brussels both Boaz and Gil would yell at me that they couldn’t stand the smell, but I asssure you that neither of them has ever actually tasted a brussel sprout –
now your assignment, if you care to accept it, is to somehow convert Gil to a brussels-lover – heaven know you’ve managed to make him quite the gourmet (or is that gourmand, I’m never sure) – it’s up to you kid!!
Comment by Official MI Mother-in-Law — March 23, 2007 @ 12:05 am
I’m afraid it’s a lost cause, Miriam. He’ll gladly eat kimchee — the stinkiest food I can imagine — but can’t stomach Brussels sprouts any more than olives or pickles.
But it could be a lot worse. My friend Lorie spent about five years conditioning her husband to eat vegetables.
Comment by Amy — March 23, 2007 @ 10:13 am
I’m salivating right now at your description and would have joined you in licking the pan… When you and Gil next come to Philadelphia, we can got to Snackbar, where they serve small plates of deliciousness. I haven’t yet tried the grilled Brussels sprouts but they’ve received rave reviews from the regulars there – here’s just one: http://philafoodie.blogspot.com/2007/01/snackbar.html
Comment by Cecily — March 23, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
I’m up for it as long as I can fit in a cheesesteak, too! Three visits and no cheesesteak is a crime.
My favorite part of the restaurant review was the description of the Adrahan Cheese: “It smells like it was aged in the bowels of a wet Egyptian mummy, but it’s delicious.” There is no such thing as a too-stinky cheese, in my book.
Comment by Amy — March 23, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
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