Shortly before Thanksgiving the choir had its annual silent auction. This rather swell event is the big fund-raiser of the year, and people go all out to make it fancy and fun. It includes a very nice catered dinner.
Well, among other amazing things, the decorating committee adorned the dinner tables with a fantastic array of beautiful and colorful fresh fall produce. Mile on mile of dinner tables…
After the event ended, guests were invited to take the veggies home with them. So much free food!
I grabbed an armful of gorgeous Brussels sprouts on their stalks. On the stalk is absolutely the best way to get them: they stay fresh forever and are soooo succulent!
Day after Thanksgiving, M’hijito and I had some of them with a lamb dinner I cooked up—at that time, we tried a recipe I’d spun off a magazine article, and it worked incredibly well. This, to be described later as part of this year’s not-a-turkey holiday meal plan.
The rest of them…a lot of them…sat in the produce drawer until I realized I’d better cook them before they spoiled. In the meantime, I came across a giant bottle of roasted red peppers at Costco, the Home of the Lifetime Supply of Everything. So here’s what became of the sprouts and the peppers.
This combination is incredibly delicious!
Brussels Sprouts that Taste Great
• fresh brussels sprouts, cleaned and quartered
• a handful of pecans (more than one handful, if desired)
• sprinkling of herbes de Provence (or other herbs, as available or desired)
• one or more large canned roasted red peppers
• dollop of olive oil
• a little butter, if desired
• salt and pepper to taste
If the sprouts come on a stalk, pop each one off the stem, wash them and as necessary discard any wilted outer leaves. Cut each sprout in quarters. Cut the pepper(s) into bite-size pieces.
Skim the bottom of a frying pan with some olive oil and heat gently over medium to medium-high heat. If you’re using butter, add this, too, so it will melt into the olive oil. Add the pecans and stir them around for a few minutes to begin browning (don’t overdo this step). Then add the sprouts and herbs, stir well to coat with cooking oil and distribute herbs, and cook over medium-high heat until the veggies are nearing the “done” stage to your taste. IMHO, they’re best served al dente—still a little crisp. Shortly before you’re ready to serve, add the peppers and stir around so they will be warm and will add their flavor to the dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
This is so incredibly simple and so incredibly delicious!
Not only that, but once cooked, the sprouts seem to last forever in the fridge. I used them in three or four more meals, occasionally adding more of the yummy roasted peppers. One particularly handy variant is to reheat a bunch of them and serve them over a little pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan.
Oh…and there’s more. It turns out dogs like Brussels sprouts. Not only will certain golden retriever puppies scarf up pieces you carelessly drop on the floor, the stem makes an awesome chew stick for your pup! Charley, who’s now verging on 50 pounds and is sprouting (heh) all his adult teeth, made off with the thing and chewed at it for quite a while, until his attention wandered. He came back to it several times—never was able to pull it apart, and unlike other chew toys, it did not splinter or peel off pieces that might choke him.
Image of sprouts on the vine: Wikipedia; no artist given. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
roasted brussels sprouts are so good–congrats on the free food
A couple years ago I grew Brussels sprouts in my garden. I tossed the stalks onto an open compost pile since my enclosed compost bins were all full. That’s how I found out the dog loved to chew on Brussels sprouts stalks. Unfortunately she had the worse gas after doing so, and since she slept in my bedroom it made for some awful nights. I found a way to cram the stalks into one of the bins just to save myself the agony.
@ Linda: ohdearohdearohdear! Doggie Gaz is enough to clear an entire house.
Walt the Greyhound was given to emitting clouds of methane. Lordy, could that dog stink!
The only cure is to figure out what causes the parfum and avoid it at all costs. In his case, it was corn: getting him onto a dog food that contained no corn products of any kind solved the problem. But it must be allowed that Walt never had a chance to sink his fangs into a Brussels sprout stalk. 😀
I tried steamed Brussels sprouts about thirty years ago, and I thought it was the vilest thing I’ve ever tasted. Nothing will convince me it is tasty.
You guys are complaining about dog gas? Have you ever had the pleasure of sharing a pillow with a gassy cat? Trust me, you will turn green.
I offered Doggle a small carrot because he was ever so interested and I think Shelley reminded me that dogs like carrots. He lipped it and dropped it a second later. Apparently he’s not so interested in people food as he thinks 🙂
I might try the Brussels sprouts though, just for variety’s sake.
@ Revanche: Dogs, like people, have tastes in veggies. If he doesn’t like carrots he might go for cauliflower or jicama or some such.