Perfect Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts. Not everyone favorite vegetable, but perhaps we can change that! They are for sure an acquired taste for those who are not huge veggie heads. But once you have the taste for them and their sophisticated flavor you can benefit from how great they are for you! I LOVE THEM! While asparagus still hold the coveted position of Stephanie's favorite vegetable, the little mini cabbages are movin on up the ranks.

Directions: 
I think the best method for making brussels is a quick steam followed by a roast. All I do it trim the rough stem area as much as possible while still leaving enough to keep the leaves attached, slice each sprout in half, and steam them for about 5 minutes until they are ALMOST fork tender. At this point you still want them crispy.

Then just toss them into a backing dish with plenty of room with a little olive oil and a decent amount of black pepper and salt. Put them into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, tossing once, until they are brown and starting to get crispy and almost burnt. Sometimes if you get a really good batch of sprouts, i SWEAR they start to taste like pop corn, or roasted almonds.

I like to serve them as a side dish, OR on a salad.

Some other great options that make them even BETTER it to add a little lemon zest before the oven step, or then to toss them in a warm pan with some softened onion and crispy pancetta or bacon bits (real bacon, not the weird fake salad topper). Brussels and bacon are a crazy good combo. CRAY!