Day 314: Where is the Undo Button?

I purchased the most beautiful brussels sprouts at the farmers' market today.  Too bad I kind of ruined them!

Everyone knows that brussels sprouts and bacon are a match made in heaven.  I chopped up four strips of applewood smoked bacon and fried it up in a hot pan.  Once they were crisped up, I removed them and set them aside in some paper towel to remove the excess grease.  

After deglazing the pan with some white wine, I tossed in a finely chopped shallot and a few sprigs of fresh thyme and sauteed them for a few minutes.  After throwing in my sprouts, which I had trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise, I made my big mistake.  I shook in some red pepper flakes which wound up providing too much heat, overwhelming the whole dish.  If there was an "undo" button, I would surely have clicked on it!

Just prior to serving, I pulled out the thyme sprigs, added the bacon bits back in, and squeezed the juice of half a lemon over the whole mixture.  Had it not been for the red pepper flakes, this would have been a great side dish.

Our main course was chicken breasts, hammered thin and marinated in the juice of a lemon, olive oil, 3 smashed garlic cloves, fresh thyme, and S&P.  After about 1/2 hour, my hubby took care of grilling them up.

Not a bad meal, but it would have been great had it not been for my hot pepper mistake.  I feel horrible for screwing up such beautiful and fresh brussels sprouts but at least I learned my lesson.  Next time, perfect sprouts!!

Day 126: Election Week Special Part 5 (Cheeseburger)

Tonight concludes my All American theme week in honor of this week's historic election.  Let's review:

Monday:  Homemade Chili

Tuesday (Election Night):  Chicken Wings

Wednesday: Chili Dogs

Thursday:  Grilled Cheese

What a week of gluttony!  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably think I've flipped my lid.  A normal week of dinner in our house usually includes at least two nights of fish, something grilled, lots of salad, and other green sides.  But this week was all about celebrating what's unique about America and apparently, that's a lot of high calorie food!

We wanted to wrap the week up with a cheeseburger and so we returned to The Balboa Cafe.  Considering the zillions of visits we've made to The Bal, it's quite shocking that neither my husband nor I had ever had a burger there.  Every time we go, though, we see that they leave the kitchen in droves, so we knew they had to be good.

Once we got there and heard that their nightly pasta special was macaroni and cheese, my husband bailed on the cheeseburger plan.  I stuck with it, though, and am so glad I did!  The burger was perfectly seasoned and served in a baguette.  I'm sure it helped that I added bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, and some good old California avocado but I think that even without all of those tasty extras, that burger would have been the bomb.

And as with every other night this week, our meal was accompanied by a good made-in-the-USA beverage.  Tonight we enjoyed a bottle of Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, produced in Sonoma County here in California.

Tomorrow we will return to regular life.  That means no fried food, much more fish, and much less cheese.  But theme week was fun and I'd love to do another sometime.  If you have an idea for a future theme, please leave a comment!

Day 111: This One is For All the Haters

My heart goes out to Brussels sprouts. Never was a vegetable so misunderstood and so hated. I myself am a recovering sprout hater. Growing up, the bowl of Brussels sprouts couldn’t even be placed near me at the dinner table. The smell alone was enough to drive me from the kitchen.

For some unknown reason, a few years ago, I decided to give them a try again. Much to my surprise, I loved them and I have loved them ever since.

The trick is in the preparation and of course, in the level of freshness. If you throw some 2 week old sprouts in a pot of boiling water and leave them there for too long, you are going to wind up with a heinous, tasteless bowl of mush.

A couple of weeks ago I prepared a Tyler Florence Brussels sprouts recipe that used bacon. Tonight I was craving that dish, but wanted to try to create a healthier version. My creation wasn’t as good as the original, but it was pretty damn tasty and easy to make!

Brussels Sprouts with Chicken/Turkey Sausage (serves 2):
2 links of pre-cooked chicken and/or turkey sausage
1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved vertically
1 small shallot, sliced thin
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (more or less, depending on how spicy your sausage is)
Olive oil

Coat a stainless steel pan with olive oil and heat on medium-high.

Slice sausage in half lengthwise and then cut across into ½ inch slices. Toss sausage and shallot into the heated oil.

Cook sausage until it’s browned all over. At that point, remove and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth. Add sprouts, cover pan, and leave on a high simmer for 10-12 minutes or under sprouts are cooked through.

Add sausage/shallots back to pan, mix with sprouts, and cook over low heat for a couple of minutes until sausage is reheated.

If you’d like, after you’ve served the sprouts up, you can grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the top.

If this recipe – or Tyler Florence’s original one – does not change your mind about Brussels sprouts, then you truly are a hater. But give them a try before you decide! It may just change your life forever!