All about brussel sprouts, the way I like them

I find it somewhat odd to be writing about brussel sprouts. I have actually hated the little suckers for almost my entire existence. That was until my brother-in-law Alan starting cooking the green menaces in a way that I like, a lot.

The secret seems to be to cook the crap out of the baby cabbages.

We had company for dinner last night - a friend of Jim's from grade school. I have adopted a new strategy when hosting dinner parties with four little ones - make sure all food is cooked, or cooking before they arrive. Thankfully, bad traffic delayed their arrival and aside from the pumpkin pies, all was cooked, including the brussel sprouts.

My theory ... not quite the way my BIL does it (his brussel sprouts are still tastier)

- trim the sprouts in half
- fry in a good glug of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter at as high a temperature without burning the crap out the things
- add a good sprinkle of salt
- add water every now and again to help with cooking and deglaze the pan of the dark brown bits (and the sizzle makes you feel like a real cook)
- keeping cooking until every aspect of green is gone
- read somewhere on the internet to add a dash of balsamic vinegar
- by the time you are done, they should look like fried mushrooms (mine didn't quite get there - will need to ask what I should have done to brown them a bit more evenly)

The taste is awesome - no longer crunch, but very nutty.

And, at $1.99/lb., a pretty inexpensive veggie all around and simply awesome beside the braised short ribs, the make-ahead mashed potatoes in the crockpot and a bit too much wine.

Not sure if the guests appreciated the little guys, but I simply loved them