Salt-roasted brussels sprouts

I remember the first time I tried a brussels sprout; I actually didn’t know what it was. I happened to be in Sonoma county, and my husband and I had settled in at the bar of a crowded restaurant for dinner. The bartender was telling us the specials, but he couldn’t remember what vegetables were served with one of the dishes. I’ve forgotten what the dish was, but it sounded so divine I didn’t care what the vegetable was that came alongside, so I ordered it. When the dish was served, the brussels sprouts were covered with the dish’s sauce, and I still wasn’t sure what they were. They looked like some small, alien life form to me, and while I wasn’t put off by them, I also wasn’t thrilled by them. I never did ask the bar tender what they were. I ate a few, and that was that.

Fast forward a couple of years and I stumbled across the recipe that morphed into my spuds and sprouts. Upon prepping the sprouts, I realized that this was what I had at the restaurant bar in Sonoma. Luckily, this time I was in love with their flavor, as a huge dose of salt really helps tame any bitterness, and a little sweetness never hurt anything (this recipe contained bacon and golden raisins). So with that in mind, I give you two very easy recipes to make brussels sprouts that most any person will love, even if they’re not a proclaimed fan. Not to mention, for a Thanksgiving side dish, you’ll love that these are fairly hands-off recipes. (more…)

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Dairy free, Gluten free, Side Dish, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

For the next few months, my husband and I are lucky enough to have the chance to live in London. While there’s a great many restaurants and pubs to eat at, coming off of a 3 week vacation has me hankering for a bit of my own cooking. So one of the first nights here, I decided to whip up a simple pasta meal. Simple, because the place we are staying in had tea, sugar, and a bit of iodized salt, and I needn’t go broke procuring the staples I would need to make a meal. No longer did I have my 80+ spices at hand or condiments galore.

On my first pass through the grocery stores, I had noticed the brussels sprouts looked amazingly good, so I decided to make a simple saute of those with some pancetta and toss it with pasta. I was really craving a homemade pasta, and since the store didn’t have any, I decided just to pick up the flour and eggs and make it myself (plus, bonus, I could have scrambled eggs for breakfast).

All was well until I arrived back at our apartment and discovered there were absolutely no measuring utensils whatsoever. (more…)

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Dinner, Italian, Wine pairings by Courtney

Many moons ago, I made a wild rice stuffing for my turkey that was delicious. However, this post is not about that. It’s about the leftover box of wild rice I’ve had sitting in my cupboard for those many moons (7 years!). While rice going bad isn’t something that I had ever really thought of, I was kind of surprised when I opened it and no weird odors or growths appeared. Then I moved onward with my plans to make a delectable rice laced with crisp green veggie slivers.

California wild rice is black, with a somewhat nutty, somewhat earthy flavor, and a texture that is the epitome of “toothsome”. And it’s fuss-free. “Add water to pot with rice. Boil. Drain.” are pretty much the instructions on the box. As a girl who often burned pots of rice dry, I can get on board with these directions. (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Side Dish, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

I’m continuing my brussels sprouts love with a recipe I picked up on YumSugar. This is the first way I ever cooked brussels sprouts, and from that point on I was hooked. I’ve adapted the recipe slightly, but the basics are here – a baked potato, smothered with brussel sprouts that have been cooked with bacons, onions, and golden raisins. (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Lunch, Quick and Easy by Courtney

This weekend, after 10 months of growing, I finally harvested my brussels sprouts, one of the first vegetables I planted in my garden. We yielded a little over 4 pounds, so it was time for me to find some new, delicious recipes to try out.

A while back I remembered seeing a pasta with brussels sprouts, and since I just picked up a box of Mother-In-Law’s Tongue at World Market (beautiful, striped pasta – like a candy cane, only better!), I thought this might be the perfect recipe to search out.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find the pasta I was thinking of, with shaved brussels sprouts, but admittedly, I didn’t try too hard because I stumbled upon this recipe at Martha Stewart for a pasta with bacon and brussels sprouts – one of my favorite pairings! (more…)

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Dinner, In the Garden, Italian by Courtney