BlogHer - How to Love 'em, Not Leave 'em - Comments

Love 'em!

ejm — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:44:05 -0600

Excuse me for commenting on this so late; I came here via Alanna's "lemony leaves of love" post. I love them steamed and tossed in cider vinegar OR parboiled, quartered then sauteed in olive oil with breadcrumbs and garlic. We just tried sauteed Brussels sprout leaves a la Laura Calder - leaves sauteed in olive oil with bacon and garlic. Wonderful!!

Elizabeth
blog from OUR kitchen - brussels sprout leaves a la Laura Calder

P.S. I did drop by Nicky's site and I think I left a comment but then again, perhaps I didn't. (Maybe I can't add?)

Recipe For Creamy Brussels Sprout Soup

Anali — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:59:46 -0600

Here is a link to the recipe for the soup!

Creamy Brussels Sprout Soup

Anali

I'm trying it!

Kalyn Denny — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:24:26 -0600

I've seen a few recipes for shredded brussels sprouts, but yours is the best sounding one I've ever seen! Sounds just wonderful.

And Anali, do share the soup recipe here too!

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Feel free to add your link, Anali

Alanna Kellogg — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:22:10 -0600

Alanna Kellogg, A Veggie Venture

and bacon!

Alanna Kellogg — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:21:42 -0600

Alanna Kellogg, A Veggie Venture

page 71 - yes!

Alanna Kellogg — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:21:17 -0600

I've missed this recipe but now am highlighting it for before Christmas, it looks so simple! Thanks much for the tip.

I've had no luck with shredded Brussels sprouts, must try again.

Alanna Kellogg, A Veggie Venture

Love em

suebob — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:55:08 -0600

I love Brussels Sprouts, always have. My favorite more difficult recipe is Brussels Sprout Souffle from Bert Greene's "Greene on Greens." It is super yum.

My favorite easy recipe is from Margaret Fox of Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino - shred the sprouts fine, melt a little butter in a saute pan, toss the sprouts in, stir, squeeze in a bit of lemon juice. Put the lid on and let them steam a couple minutes. Then toss a little shredded parmesan over, put the lid back on and let it melt. People have no idea what this even is if you don't tell them, but they usually like it!

I was surprised

Kalyn Denny — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:12:16 -0600

I was actually quite surprised how much I liked them. Of course, isn't everything good with pine nuts?

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Love 'em!

Anali — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:20:44 -0600

Hi Alanna! I guess people are starting to come around to like the sprouts. I used to be one of the few. In October, I wrote a post about a Brussels sprout soup that I made. Loved it!

Anali

How to Love 'em, Not Leave 'em

Alanna Kellogg — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:21:08 -0600

Nicky from the award-winning Munich food blog Delicious Days is making a valiant grown-up attempt to overcome a childhood aversion to Brussels sprouts.

She writes: "Little miniatures of their larger cabbage brothers, it’s hard to not love these leafy green cuties - but not quite impossible. They were my childhood’s nightmare, an acquired taste coming at costs I wasn’t will to pay. With a great deal of persistence, my cunning mum wanted to coax me into liking them by sauteing them with breadcrumbs - a very legit attempt. Anything involving butter-browned breadcrumbs increases the odds tenfold, but I was a hard nut to crack. Somehow I only have bad memories attached to Brussels sprouts, the brash kitchen smell after cooking them, a nasty pot coaster showing cheesy 70s flowers, the usual and inevitable long discussion (”Pleeease, just try a single ONE!“) at our kitchen table, they never had a real chance to make it on my shortlist."

Now if Nicky's mum had known my idol Harold McGee, she'd have known that Nicky's discomfort is likely all about a sensitivity to bitterness and the bitterness, my cooks, is all about chemicals, glucosinolates, if you must know. If someone in your family is hesitant, resistant or outright militantly in opposition to Brussels sprouts, know that the trick is to break up the center of the sprouts by cutting them in half and then, to leach out the chemicals, to cook them in a lot of well-salted water. (Forget steaming, forget roasting. And chocolate as a reward for "you don't have to like it but you must try it" rules can't hurt, either.)

So check out the recipe that's turned Nicky into the Love 'Em camp, Brussels Sprouts all over. Leave a comment and be sure to mention you're visiting from Blogher.

Other food bloggers who've seen the Brussels sprouts light ...
CookThink ~ Brussels Sprouts with Chantarelles, Tarragon & Cream
Kalyn's Kitchen ~ Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar, Parmesan & Pine Nuts
Lucullian Delights ~ Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Zucchini & Red Onion with Pistachios & Balsamic Vinegar
Orangette ~ State of the Sprout

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg collects recipes for Brussels sprouts but is partial to Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta & Garlic and also knows the sister of the woman who won the 1996 Pillsbury Bake-Off with Brussels Sprouts with Apricot Glaze.