Cooking: Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Today's recipe is another simple and satisfying roasted vegetable side! (If you like this dish, check out my roasted asparagus garlic fries.)

Brussel Sprouts! Before last March, I never would have believed that I would ever be enthusiastic about those words, unless it was enthusiastically expressing my distaste (having never had them, obviously). Then I went to Graffiatios for restaurant week and got the beets (trying new things!). Sadly, I disliked the beets & the rest of my meal but LOVED (and ate a lot of) my friend's appetizer. It was roasted brussel sprouts w/ maple syrup and bacon. Trying this was a GAME CHANGER, and as I later discovered had nothing to do w/ the maple syrup and bacon. When roasted, brussel sprouts become "sweet" on the inside, crispy on the outside, and are incredibly delicious.  Now I find myself excited when I have a longer workout because I can fit roasted brussel sprouts into my nutrition for the day! (And yes, 12 year old me is appalled, heck so is 21 year old me. Don't worry though - I still to this day have never attempted to eat them raw.) 

In the last year (starting immediately after that meal), I have roasted brussel sprouts probably 30 times or so (simply cutting in half, coating with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasting in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes).  I have even gotten my friends hooked on them! I took a break over the summer, but now that it's cold again (and snowing!) I have been really craving this dish and am full force back on board w/ brussel sprouts.

Then yesterday, another game changer. I stumbled upon another America's Test Kitchen recipe from the TV show cookbook that had a different technique for preparing them. Being up for adventure, I tried it out, and I will never go back! One of the potential issue with my previous technique is the inside can sometimes taste a bit bitter if you overcook the sprouts in order to get the crispiness on the outside. For the ATK recipe, they turn up the heat to 500 degrees, steam the Brussel sprouts in the baking dish using a little bit of water (covered) to cook the inside, and then uncover the dish and continue cooking until the outside caramelizes. This results in brussel sprouts that have the wonderful crispyness/sweetness on the outside, and a nice creamy inside. And I promise, it's much simpler than it sounds!

Let's get cooking!

Cooking: Simple Roasted Garlic Asparagus Fries

Since this will be my first cooking post (and it's a school night!), I will make this one short and sweet.

One of the things I have discovered this year is that most vegetables get about 10 to 1 million times better when you roast them. The roasting process really brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetable and softens it. For a sweet tooth like me, that is key. I even discovered I actually like brussel sprouts! The teenage me is rolling in her grave at that statement.

Generally, I try to roast some vegetables on nights I have leftovers from previous meals because I have the extra time and it's really easy. Once you learn the technique, you can substitute a variety of vegetables. The key is olive oil, salt, and pepper! All other seasonings/variations are optional and worth the experiment.

Ages ago, before I discovered this new found love of most vegetables (except beets, I still don't like beets), I ordered the Grilled Asparagus fries at the BGR joint and loved them. With this as an inspiration, I decided to see asparagus took to roasting, and realized I had a huge hit! It's by far my favorite thing I have tried. The roasting process makes them softer than in their natural state, but they also have this wonderful crisp to them which I crave. With the right seasonings (*cough*salt*cough), they really are a pretty good healthy alternative to french fries. Plus, it gives you your daily serving of essential fatty acids via the olive oil!