Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
From allrecipes.com 

Happy four days till Thanksgiving!  Is there any other week all year with an anticipation level quite like this?  Just four days till a gloriously long weekend, unabashed Christmas decorating, and of course, the meal to end all meals.

Interestingly, though I think not uncommonly, neither John nor I are big turkey eaters.  For us it's the side dishes that really steal the show.  Just the thought of stuffing gets my heart racing.  We recently had a sample of some mediocre store brand stuff at the grocery store and we were practically drooling in our little paper cups.

At this year's family Thanksgiving feast the stuffing is being covered by my mom, but we're excited to contribute an appetizer and a Brussels sprouts side dish.  For the sprouts we naturally thought of our Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe, but that dish pretty much demands to be eaten right after roasting and we were worried there might not be enough space in my aunt's oven.  To be safe we decided to test out a few recipes that could be made in advance and reheated in the microwave before serving.  This recipe turned out to be a big winner, and although best eaten fresh, it can definitely be reheated - just add the bacon and almonds after it's been microwaved.  As it turns out my aunt is a kitchen logistics master and we're able to make the roasted sprouts after all, but we're hardly complaining about adding this awesome dish to our repertoire.


Ingredients

• 1/2 lb bacon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds
• 2 lb Brussels sprouts, shredded (use a food processor for speedy prep)
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Place bacon in a cold, large, deep skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat till crisp.  Set aside to drain on paper towels.
2. Discard bacon grease, reserving 2 tablespoons in the skillet.
3. Reduce heat to medium.  Melt butter with reserved bacon grease.
4. Add almonds and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned.  (If you are planning to reheat the dish to serve later, skip this step and toast the almonds in a dry pan or the oven so that you can add them after microwaving the sprouts).
5. Add Brussels sprouts, green onions, seasoned salt and pepper.
6. Cook over medium heat until sprouts are wilted and tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Crumble bacon on top just before serving.

Serves 8 as a side dish.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
From Ina Garten 

Brussels sprout season excites me.  A lot.  If this puts me in the minority I think it's largely because the majority hasn't tried Ina Garten's roasted Brussels sprouts recipe.  In her description she talks about salting them heavily and eating them like french fries.  That sounds like a crazy comparison, but it's really not once you taste them.  Done right, these sprouts are crunchy and salty on the outside and buttery smooth on the inside.  I've been known to eat whole baking sheets of them in leui of dinner when John is out of town.

However, in the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that John likes, but does not love, this recipe.  His brother, who happens to be an excellent cook, makes a Brussels sprouts dish that includes bacon, and John reminds me every time we have these that bacon makes everything better.  One day maybe we'll steal that recipe for the blog, but until then, try these.  I promise you [probably] won't be disappointed!


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp coarse salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut off brown stem ends of Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.
3. In a large bowl toss Brussels sprouts, oil, 3/4 tsp salt, and pepper.
4. Pour them onto a sheet pan and roast for 35-40 minutes, shaking the pan every 10-15 minutes so that they brown evenly.
5. Once crispy (almost burnt looking on the outside), remove from oven and toss with additional coarse salt, to taste.

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