The Accidental Brussels Sprouts

If you like Brussels Sprouts, you know where to find them in the grocery store. Generally you have two options, in the produce section or the freezer. Since my mother has been serving them since I was a kid, my only experience was the frozen kind. I have grown to like them, as does my husband and somehow we convinced one of our children to like them too. (It's funny; you can tell one kid they're baby cabbages and they gobble them up, and the other doesn't really believe you and won't touch them.)

So imagine my surprise when I opened up a box expecting 5 pounds of celery and find 5 pounds of fresh Brussels Sprouts! What? You don't get your produce in bulk? Let me back up. Being the owner of a food preparation business, means being responsible for inventory and ordering LOTS of ingredients every week. At Dream Dinners, I order what's necessary week-by-week so the ingredients are fresh. Sometimes I make mistakes, and sometimes the distributor does. This one was on them. I did try to return this bountiful case of Brussels Sprouts, but they said "keep them." And so started the search for recipes by which to use these lovely little green gems.

I asked many of my friends who love to cook, and the general consensus was to roast them. My friend Cindy was the first to offer up this recipe: Start cleaning about 3 pounds of Brussels Sprouts by cutting off the knubby bottom where it attaches to the stalk, slice in half long ways, removing a few of the outer leaves in the process, rinse and drain to dry. Then toss with 1/2 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste, and1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Zest one lemon and juice, toss together bake, at 425 degrees for thirty minutes. When done, toss with one tsp poppy seeds. This was the first recipe I tried and I couldn't stop eating them! Made this way, Brussels Sprouts are  good hot or cold too.

Then my friend and fellow blogger, Tricia White, shared this link for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar: http://whiteonricecouple.com/gardening/roasted-brussels-sprouts-balsamic-vinegar/

Finally, as my search continued, I stumbled upon another recipe for Brussels Sprouts with Browned Garlic from another favorite blog of mine, "a better bag of groceries" by Melissa Schlenker, which she borrowed from Cooking Light.

It seems that everyone has a story about Brussels Sprouts. For some families they are only served at special holiday dinners, for others it's love at first sight, and for others it's an acquired appreciation that takes years to cultivate. What's your story? For me, now that we've tried the fresh ones, we may never go back to frozen.