Lisa's Brussels Sprouts

This post was supposed to be about a shredded Brussels Sprout salad.  Well, it is.  But, it's also about Maple Bacon Braised Brussels sprouts.  I'd gone through over a year's worth of recipes on Lisa's blog and finally ran out of time.  I had a list of dishes I'd like to make.  Ok, let's be honest here.  Just open up her blog and start cooking.  Really.  It's that good.  I've visited her blog for several years now and have made maybe half a dozen recipes.  All of them have been wonderful.  I'd decided that the salad would be perfect since we have three gorgeous Brussels sprouts plants in the garden.  And, we've had a first frost so they should be just at the peak of perfection.  We'd been at the office all day and I'd printed the recipe out there.  I forgot to take it home.  Darn the luck.  Back to her blog to hunt.  So, one of the Brussels sprouts recipe that comes up is Maple Braised Brussels sprouts.  I HAD to try that too.  You know.  Just for scientific purposes.  LOL.  You believe me, don't you?

So, what did we think?  The Maple Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts were a five on a scale of one to five.  We don't give fives out very often.  This one deserved every bit of that score.  Even if you think you don't like Brussels Sprouts, you owe it to yourself to try these.  Fabulous!

The salad was VERY good.  Still, when compared to the glazed sprouts it was a four.  Of course, you need to realize that NOTHING could compare to the glazed sprouts...  The salad was a great combination of crunchy, soft, sweet, salty, tart.  I'm going to toss some deli ham or rotisserie chicken into the leftovers and call it lunch...

Both of these recipes will be made again soon.  Thank you so much, Lisa!

Now, you're probably wondering who Lisa is.  She's the lovely blogger behind Authentic Suburban Gourmet.  Typically, she posts a Friday Night Bite once a week.  Those tend to be yummy appetizers.  Like the bourbon apricot meatballs we have started for later this week.  They were her Halloween post.  Then, if you're lucky, she'll post something else during the week.  Like the Brussels sprouts.  Lisa is from the San Francisco area.  She's an executive with a Bay area human capital firm.  I've been reading her blog since she started it in 2009.  She loves to cook and loves to entertain and loves wine.  Personally, I'd love to live next door to her!

And, you may be wondering what Blogger C.L.U.E. Society is...  We're a brand new group of bloggers.  All of us have been cooking and blogging for quite a while now so we've got some great recipes on our blogs.  Every month we'll have a different theme.  This month it's Thanksgiving side dishes.  For December it's going to be recipes your grandmother would make.  And, for January we'll be sparkling  -champagne, glitter - anything that sparkles.  All of my fellow bloggers are listed below.  I do hope you'll stop by their blogs and see what yummy creations they've come up with!

Ok, on to the recipes!

Maple Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts
serves 4

Ingredients:

4  Brussels Sprouts, cut in half
6 strips Applewood smoked bacon, diced
3 T butter, cubed (I reduced this from six)
4 T real maple syrup (I used my beloved shagbark hickory syrup)
salt and pepper to taste (actually, we didn't think these needed any salt or pepper)

Directions:

In a medium skillet, brown the bacon until crisp.  Remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain the bacon on paper towels.  Pour out all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat.  Add the butter to the bacon fat and melt it.  Over medium heat, add the Brussels Sprouts.  Cook each side until they're browned.  Add in the maple syrup and cook until it's a glaze.  Serve topped with the bacon bits.  Lisa's recipe called for adding the bacon when you add the maple syrup.  I didn't want to cook the bacon any more so left it until I served the dish. 

Here's how the finished dish looked:

Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad

Ingredients:

for the salad:
1 1/2 lbs shredded Brussels sprouts
1 1/2 c orange segments (I used tangerines)
1/2 red onion, sliced VERY thinly
3/4 c walnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
1 c Israeli couscous, cooked and rinsed
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/4 c port
1 c ricotta salada (or feta if you can't find the ricotta salada,) crumbled


for the dressing:
2 small shallots, finely minced
2 large or 4 small garlic cloves, finely minced
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T honey
6 T champagne vinegar
1 C extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

While you're prepping the rest of the salad ingredients, put the dried cranberries in a small saucepan with the port.  Simmer them until the port is absorbed and the cranberries are nice and plump.  Mix all the dressing ingredients with the exception of the olive oil.  Drizzle that in, whisking as you pour.  Set the dressing aside for an hour to allow the flavors to meld.  You can either serve the salad as a layered salad or tossed.  It looks beautiful either way.  Here's how mine went together:

Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Kate from Kate's Kitchen
Christiane from The Mom Chef
Debra from Eliots Eats
Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
Ramona from Curry and Comfort
Janet from From Cupcakes to Caviar
Christyfrom Culinary Diva
Alice from A Mama Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
Kelli from Kellis Kitchen
Kim from Liv Life
Susan from Create Amazing Meals
Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
Kathy from Bakeaway With Me
Anna from Anna Dishes
Stacy from Food Lust People Love