Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Pecans

I have three weird food things.  One, I cannot stomach melons other than watermelon.  They have such a strong flavor that permeates everything around it so that I cannot handle any fruit salad that I don't personally make.  Two, and this is the one I get the most flak for, unless they are sweet or very thin and fried I cannot handle root vegetables.  That means sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, and all things similar are off limits to me.  Every time I make a dessert with pumpkin, I gag when I get the puree out of the can but want to lick the bowl by the time I'm cleaning up.  I get the courage to try savory squash dishes every month or so, but still no dice.  Still disappointing.

And my third thing?  I have extra bitter taste buds.  I'm super sensitive to citrus pith, just a little can ruin a dish for me.  Deep leafy greens need to be dowsed in dressing to make it palatable for me; I'll give my mom that excuse for not eating more kale.  Brussels sprouts had long been a forgotten vegetable because they are particularly bitter to me.  In fact, I wrote a post about the brown sugar, orange juice, and beer simmering sauce for drunk brussels sprouts that can be used to almost mask the flavor!  Won't lie, still kind of hated it despite the incredible sauce.  (Thanks, Dad!)

However, I do believe in trying everything when I'm at a dinner party.  I was at a friend's house recently and she served up a dish of roasted brussels sprouts with apples in them.  I took the "polite" portion, loaded with a lot of apples and only a couple of sprouts.  My first bite took me totally by surprise - I actually like brussels sprouts!

What a revelation!  Honestly, I felt so stupid.  I love everything roasted and have to restrain myself because if left to my own devices every post on this blog would start with the word "roasted."  This dish is a bit of an homage to the first brussels sprouts that I liked, with the apples and nuts.

I cut my sprouts into quarters to give them more surface area to crisp up (and downplay the bitter), paired them with thinly sliced and slightly wilted apples, added a little lemon juice for brightness, and finished with nutmeg to pair with the greens.  The combination of the lemon juice and the residual olive oil from roasting made an easy and flavorful bonus vinaigrette.  Paired with the roast pork, it was the perfect compliment!

My word of advice to you?  If you think you don't like something, keep trying.  It may not work, like me with sweet potatoes, but sometimes you'll surprise yourself!

Drunk Brussels Sprouts: 38 Power Foods - #7 Brussels Sprouts

Confession time - I am not a brussels sprouts fan.  I have super sensitive bitter taste buds that don't play well with this particular power food.  The only upside of this sensitivity?  I've become a pro at zesting citrus because to get few a pieces of pith would ruin a dish for me.  Thus, I've pulled one of my Dad's recipes for brussels sprouts that he makes every year for Thanksgiving.  It's super simple: beer, orange juice, brown sugar, and chicken stock reduced and then used to braise the little buggers.

Brussels sprouts have two compounds (indole-3-carbinole and sulforaphane for nerds like me) that are anti-carcinogenic.  Caveat - you can't cook them too long, especially boiling, or the compounds will break down and be ineffective.  (Also, the sprouts will turn grey and taste entirely unappetizing but let's stick to the fighting cancer schtick.)

I changed up my Dad's recipe a bit, he loves Guinness and I only drink it yearly for St Pattys so I used Blue Moon since it is lighter (read: less bitter) and already has a twinge of orange in it.  This sauce is super versatile and can be used on any veggie that you don't particularly care for but know you should eat, just like I ended up enjoying the brussels sprouts (as long as there was only one sprout per bite and lots of sauce).  Not just for Thanksgiving anymore!