Brussels Sprouts Reborn!

Those of you privy to early beginnings of mine posting pictures of food, comments, and recipes to my facebook page will be familiar with an earlier Brussels Sprouts catastrophe and my subsequent failure to resurrect them.  Not to worry!  It is a brand new day!!  A new batch of Brussels, and a chance at redemption.

This preparation couldn't be simpler.

Quick Steam/Fried n' Seasoned Brussels Sprouts

Rinse of a few peppy Brussels with tender love and affection and some cold water.  Trim the woodier bits of stem at the end and dispense with any ragged sub-standard leaves.  Slice 'dem Brussels in half through the stem.  Gently massage, brush or otherwise baste those buds with a liberal lubrication of extra virgin olive oil or similar.  While you are doing so, get a fry pan sufficient to lay out all them Brussels flat in, warmed up to medium but not a hot heat.  You'll need a lid (or something) to cover them too.

Once those bud are prepped and the pan is heated, lay those compact blossoms of goodness face down on your frying surface.  Cover them and let them steam/fry for about 5 minutes or so, or until they are crunchie tender.  You ideally want a sort of al dente effect here.  Be sure you're not burning your buds or steaming them soggy.  Err on the side of crunchy is my recommendation.  DO NOT tune in to the latest episode of Heroes you are on (or similar) on your Netflix while you wait for the steam/frying to happen!!!  It doesn't take long so...please, pay attention.  You've been warned.  ;)

Once they seem to have reached steam/frying perfection uncover those glorious greens and season them with a little salt and pepper.  Some quality sea/kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper is best but use whatever you have.  I have some lovely Irish sea salt harvested upon the salt flats outside Limerick by vestal virgins and semi-sentient wading birds by the light of the full moon.  Such extravagances are unnecessary however...ahem...

Turn up the heat and sizzle those sprouts a bit turning those flat bases a golden brown and tossing a bit to give those rounded globublar sides a bit of hot love too.  Use an implement if you wish (by this I mean spatula or spoon), or try your hand at the chef's flourish n' flip.  It IS rather fun, and Brussels are forgiving subjects to try this out with.

That's it!  Serve 'em up immediately for optimal results or keep those buds toasty in a warm oven until you're ready for them.