Brussels Sprouts Should Not Get a Bum Rap

Another great meal chez Tess.  I decided to try my hand at brussels sprouts tonight.  I've recently come to fancy those peculiar veggies.  I didn't dislike them before; I just hadn't interacted with them much, and I certainly never cooked them myself due to the fact that they intimidated the bejeezus out of me.  I think brussels sprouts have surpassed broccoli as children's most hated vegetable, even though I'm sure most children have never even tried them - after all, I never tried them until I moved to New York.  This reputation made me leery of tasting them, but once I did, I was pleasantly surprised...maybe that's because the first time I tried them they were slathered with bacon.  But I was definitely too scared to try to cook them, assuming I would only like them if they were perfectly cooked - and how presumptuous to assume I would cook them perfectly?

But tonight was the night I threw caution to the wind and sauteed some shallots, tossed them with some some salt and pepper and halved brussels sprouts and roasted them until they browned.  That's it.  So easy and super tasty.  I tried to fry up some bacon because it was so good the first time.  Unfortunately, I bought the cheap bacon and took it out of the package to discover it was 99.9% fat with very little meat to be found, so I chucked it after finding it didn't fry well.  The sprouts were tasty, nonetheless, and I feel like less of a fatso.

But brussels sprouts are not a meal, oh no!  Tonight they were the leafy green side dish to shrimp with mushrooms, peas, and onions in a white wine sauce over Israeli cous cous (the larger, pearl style).  Another new dish that I'll have to make again.  I am so proud of how healthy (but still yummy) my dinner was.  I am also thankful I like it because I have enough leftovers to last me a week.  Any other brussels sprout converts out there want some leftovers?