I Hate Brussels Sprouts

cestgigi.com

I hate Brussels sprouts.  My aversion to “The Sprouts” goes back to elementary school days when my parents and grandparents insisted I follow the Clean Plate Club and eat every bite of food placed in front of me and that included Brussels sprouts.

As a kid, I wasn’t considered a picky eater.  I choked down chicken liver with onions, Vienna sausages, overcooked vegetables, tuna noodle casserole, fried bologna, and canned ham.  I ate it all.  But disgusting tiny, green, soggy, lettuce balls?  Barf!

Even the name alone irked me, “Brussels sprouts. “  What’s with the capital B and the extra ‘s’ at the end?  No other vegetable gets the right to have a capital.  It’s so uppity.

For February, I challenged myself to try something new.  The goal?  Eat Brussels sprouts.

First, I searched for recipes with loads of cheese and bacon.  These extra ingredients have been proven to convince the most finicky eater to give it a try.

In the opinion of the Internet chefs, people hate the sprouts because they are usually overcooked and often from a box of frozen contents.  I followed the recipe, blanching the little buggers for 3-5 minutes then dousing in ice water.  Bright, green cabbages are more appealing.

Next, I whipped a mixture of milk, flour and Parmesan cheese to a thick, gooey consistency.  I poured it on top and baked for 20 minutes.  Bingo!  It looked edible and a tiny bit tasty.  Served with steak and salad, it made the perfect accompaniment.

Tonight’s meal was poorly attended.  My son begged out and invited himself to a friend’s for dinner.  My husband sat down, took one look at his plate and said, “Fine.  I’ll try one.”  He skewered half a sprout, plunked it in his mouth and said, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought but I’m not eating any more.”

Over the lips and past the gums, watch out stomach, here it comes.

I scooped up a few with a fork but paused near my lips. I threw up a little in my mouth.  It wasn’t too bad but the bitter aftertaste bubbled up into my throat.

I could only finish half a small portion but have upgraded my original opinion from hate to dislike.  Final verdict, you can keep ‘em!

 

The recipe below comes highly recommended by Sandra, a foodie.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts – FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately.

Per Serving: Calories: 109; Total Fat: 7 grams; Saturated Fat: 1 gram; Protein: 4 grams; Total carbohydrates: 10 grams; Sugar: 2 grams; Fiber: 4 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 269 milligrams

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html?oc=linkback

About staceygustafson

Comments

  1. Camille Thompson says

    Loved this! You’re my hero! I won’t even try new foods! I’m a real food phobic! That said, my husband, who loves BS (Brussels Sprouts, that is) has a tasty recipe for them. So I eat the BS, but won’t touch asparagus. Go figure!

  2. I laughed so hard! It reminded me of my daughter, Courtney, when she was two. We went shopping at the grocery store. Mistake number one was taking a two-year-old to the grocery store. She saw those tiny green balls and begged for them. Instead of applauding her willingness to try something new, I said, “You won’t like them, I promise.” It spiraled into an argument with me ending it by saying, “If I buy those disgusting things, you WILL eat them.” An hour after she finished the rest of dinner, and only one small bite into the three Brussels sprouts on her plate, I took pity and let her leave the table. I dread thinking of the permanent damage I did.

  3. I actually love Brussels sprouts, but you’re entitled. My brother called them snarfle britts when we were growing up and also HATED them. With. A. Passion. He got so mad when my mom made them…as of course we were also raised to clean our plates, like it or not. My mom also forced us to eat liver & onions from time to time. That I could NEVER stomach. 😛

  4. IF you want to try again, I do have a great recipe for sprout. First cut them in half. Toss them in a mixture of olive oil, garlic powder salt and pepper. Spread them out on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 until nicely browned, about 20 to 25 mins. While they’re baking, in a saucepan mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, a splash of soy sauce and 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a soft boil. Stirring constantly.pour over the sprouts when they are done or even 10 minutes before they finish.

    They taste like dessert! Mmmmmm

  5. I love brussels sprouts! I roast mine with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, until they’re crispy. Even my kids eat them 🙂

  6. One of the secrets of good Brussels sprouts is to eat them only when they are available on the stalk at the grocery store. It’s fun to pop them off the stalk into the bag at the store and you know they’re as fresh as they get. The stalks should start appearing any time now — November and December are the peak seasons. Then, as others have suggested, the only way worth fixing them is roasted. I’ve convinced Brussels sprouts haters that they are good roasted with a bit of mustard sauce.

    • staceygustafson says

      Gosh, I promise I will try again but I have formed a very strong dislike that was programmed inside me for years as a kid. Fresh is definitely best.

  7. Gack! You are so right. I’ve tried to like brussels sprouts, but no matter how I’ve fixed them they still taste like a fart to me. And I did try roasting them, but I haven’t tried roasting with mustard as Joy suggests…maybe that’s the trick to swallowing them.

  8. I’m more impressed with the fact you can eat liver and onions.

  9. they look very good – but, then again, I love brussels sprouts. thanks for sharing!

  10. Helene Cohen Bludman says

    Funny! I feel that way about beets. Can’t stand ’em, never have and never will. Brussels sprouts, on the other hand, mmmm….

    • staceygustafson says

      Thanks for checking out my blog. Beets, cannot say much about them. Not too good, not too bad. Definitely colorful.

  11. Now that I’m older and my health is a bit dicier, I’m eating all kinds of foods that I used to hate (and probably still hate). Who knew that Father Time was such a motivator? My parents’ use of starving third world children, threats of no television time and name calling had very little pull compared to lab reports of slowly dwindling vitality. I’ll have to try the recipe and/or some of the tips in the comments. Bon Appetite, all. And may we all keep Father Time at bay as long as mortally possible.

    • staceygustafson says

      I remember sitting at the dinner table for 2 hours. I never did finish the sprouts. If I could do over, maybe they would be my favorites. Thanks for stopping by.

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