Tasty Tuesday: Brussel Sprouts with Bacon REDUX

I've made brussel sprouts with bacon before, but they weren't like this. I'd like you to forget that last post even happened, because this version is way better. One of my readers (hey Becky!) sent it my way, and I am now forever in her debt. 

Brussel sprouts are good; so is bacon, and bacon fat. But when you add caramelized onions and balsamic glaze, this side dish goes from "yummy" to "OHHOLYMOTHER, GET IN MY MOUTH!" I have to admit, I didn't follow the instructions to the letter; I didn't remove the onions and bacon - instead, I sauteed everything together on low for about 45 minutes. By the time we were ready to eat, the onions and bacon were black. I was worried they were over cooked - I needn't have been.

Pair this dish like I did - with some red wine, a pita pizza, and a good friend. You won't be sorry.

Tasty Tuesday: Brussel Sprouts With Bacon

You already know how much I love brussel sprouts, so don't act surprised. But the last time I mentioned them, I proposed a challenge, and no one followed-through. 

I'll admit it - sprouts aren't the sexiest vegetable. For some reason, they have a really bad rap (kids in movies and on TV are always complaining about them). But I promise you that they are delicious. And in this case, decadent.

Ingredients:

• Bacon

This was in the freezer - it's not expired meat

• Brussel sprouts

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

• Bake some bacon - Are you still frying bacon? STOP IT. It's messy, and the pieces are never uniformly cooked, and they don't lie flat. Put your bacon in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Then flip it and cook for another 10 minutes. You will thank me.
• Halve the sprouts - While the bacon is cooking, cut your sprouts in half lengthwise.

• Blanch the sprouts - Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and dump the sprouts in. Let them cook in the boiled water for no more than 5 minutes. They will turn a lovely BRIGHT green. After 5 minutes, dump them in a strainer and shake off some of the extra water. 

• Chop the bacon - By now, the bacon is probably done cooking. Remove it from the oven and save the grease. Chop the bacon into little bits, then set it aside.

• Saute the Sprouts - Okay, now you can use your frying pan. Sautee the sprouts in the pan with some of the grease from your bacon. We actually save our bacon grease in a container in the fridge, so I can cook stuff in bacon grease whenever I want. In this case, I just poured the grease from the baking sheet into the pan. Cook the sprouts for about 10 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness. I like to get the outsides golden, but not brown.

Cook all of the things in bacon grease!

• Put them in a bowl - Remove from heat and put them in/on some type of serving dish.
• Add bacon and toss.

See? Vegetables don't have to be healthy.

Tasty Tuesday: smitten kitchen Book Signing

Last Thursday, Deb Perelman came to Atlanta. If you don't know who that is, then clearly you haven't been paying attention, and we will have words after this class is over, young lady.

Deb is the incredible cook (and woman) behind smitten kitchen. Hers is not merely a food blog - it's a blog about perfect food. Deb's recipes are painstakingly tested, and then tested again and again by her family, and then posted on the internet so we can all be amazing home chefs. Whenever I need a fail-safe recipe - something that I know will be a hit - I head to smitten kitchen.

I bought myself a copy of her cookbook for Christmas - it's beautiful, just like the online version, and when you open it up, the pages stay open. It's a miracle of cookbook engineering.

Deb hosted a Q&A and book signing at Manuel's Tavern last Thursday. We were there early, but not early enough.

Very Excellent and I got Blue Moons while we waited.

You see, we weren't the only fans there.

Not by a longshot.

Standing-room only!

I was thrilled to see the Atlanta support! I'm rarely ever happy that I have to stand for an event, but I was for this.

After a fight with Buckhead traffic, Deb arrived and answered our queries for a while.

Horrible, grainy, close-up cell phone pic!

Rapt.

She was just as charming and silly in real life as she is on the internet. 

Delightfully, I ran into a couple people I knew - including an old high school friend, Lucy!

Lucy and I

She has her own corner of the interwebs - Flowers are Lovely. Stop by sometime and tell her I said hey. 

Deb and I

When Deb signed my book, I told her that her recipe for kale chips has thoroughly changed my life. She dropped some knowledge in the form of a verbal recipe for brussel sprout chips. GUYS, you KNOW how much I love brussel sprouts! I could have died! Instead, I asked for a picture while my heart fluttered. 

Crazy-eyed with the cookbook

We finished the evening with dinner in the next room - I got black bean nachos, Very Excellent got a French dip sandwich, and we switched meals halfway through. It was a very tasty night. 

Tomorrow, I'll recount my second blogging meetup from last week. Magical!

Tasty Tuesday: Feasting with a High School Friend

I've known my friend Austin for ten years, which seems impossible. If I can count on him for anything, it's for ridiculous escapades and laughing until I cry (fine, two things). We hung out last week (with the Very Excellent Boyfriend in tow), and when our dinner plans fell through, we decided to improvise.

After a frenzied run through Kroger, we had the following:

• A DiGiorno pizza
• A bucket of Neopolitan ice cream
• Heath magic shell syrup
• Smuckers carmel syrup
• Nonpareil sprinkles
• A&W root beer
• Zebra cakes
• A bag of brussel sprouts

I mean, you gotta have your veggies.

And since movies are to dinner as peanut butter is to jelly, we threw on a DVD (The Emperor's New Groove) and got to cooking.

The Zebra cakes were our appetizer. I had one bite, because pre-packaged snack cakes give me crippling headaches. I rarely had them as a child, so I have little appreciation for their flavors.

I've never been a big fan of DiGiorno, but I was very impressed with the one we bought. It was really a pan of breadsticks covered in cheese and sauce, and if you think that sounds delicious, then we should be friends. We added our own (mini) pepperoni, baked it for 16 minutes (because the recommended cooking time was 15 to 17), and ate them with the accompanying packets of marinara and garlic sauce. The next time I want to eat junk food, it will be one of these.

Stay back, pup.

For a mid-movie snack, we had roasted brussel sprouts. This is Austin's recipe, and it was so rock-simple that I expect ALL of you readers to make them. I'm serious - this is the easiest dish in the world, and I want to know how you like it. So go to Kroger, buy some sprouts, and follow these steps:

Ingredients

• Bag of brussel sprouts (or about 1 lb)
• Olive oil
• Spices - salt, pepper, garlic, grill seasoning, WHATEVER

Directions

• Put the sprouts in a bowl
• Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over them
• Shake in some salt, pepper, garlic, Mrs. Dash, cayenne pepper, WHATEVER. You can add just about anything. We used salt, pepper, garlic, and grill seasoning.
• Toss the sprouts around in the bowl - get them coated in oil and spices
• Pour the sprouts onto a baking sheet
• Stick the sheet in the oven at 400 degrees
• Remove after 30 minutes

The outside layer of leaves will probably be brown and crispy - and that's exactly how they should be. Austin stuck some toothpicks in them, and we ate them like fancy hors d'oeuvres.

Then we paused the movie right here

And made ice cream sundaes.

I had forgotten that the first step to magic shell is to shake it FOREVER.

Singing and shaking

My arms got tired

He is so Very Excellent

We also made root beer floats.

Turns out that getting a little strawberry ice cream in your float is totally fine - quite good, actually.

After the movie, Very Excellent and I went home - much fatter and happier than we had left it. And that, my dears, is the correct way to eat yourself sick. It's also the perfect recipe for an evening spent with an old friend.

Now, don't think I forgot about the challenge I issued earlier. I never forget. Those Brussel sprouts could NOT be easier to make. So make 'em! Have a Tasty Tuesday of your own, or cook them this weekend for someone special. When you do, send me a picture and your review - I want to get your thoughts on the recipe. When I get your stuff, I'll feature it here so everyone else can get the benefit of your experience. E-mail it all to me at galensdaysoftheweek@gmail.com. I patiently await your feedback.