Mediterranean Feast: Brussels

No, I did not cook this up in my dorm kitchen.

Oh yah, did I mention I'm back at culinary school? yup...back in New York and it's pretty nice. 

But when I was back at home I did it up, and topped off the stay in Seattle with a Middle Eastern meal for my parents and some of their friends. Technically they are their friends, but let's be honest, I enjoy hanging out with the whole gang. I'm an all ages entertainer, you know?

To begin with, let's make the brussel sprouts, shall we?

I was about to tell you how to make the brussels sprouts and then I learned something huge. Big time major life changing...

"Brussel sprout" is really "brussels sprouts"?!?!  Like, really...hold the phone! I had NO idea there was an "s" at the end of brussel.

Freakin out a little.

Let's get past this curve ball and cook some members of the cabbage family. Yikes! That sounds a bit gruesome.

It's a pretty lengthy process but delicious nonetheless. These were a great dish to lighten up the meal.

Basically you peal the pretty outer leaves off the brussels sprouts like such

Little brussels leaves, you love it.

Take the insides, cut 'em in half and roast them in a 415 degree oven until they are crispy and golden brown and no longer crunchy on the inside.

What else do we need? A big lemon, cut in half & 1/2 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios

(fyi I started with 1.5-2 pounds of brussels sprouts)

In a big sauté pan, over mediumish heat add a drizzle of olive oil and then throw the leaves in.

Stir them around until they are bright green and softened (if this is taking a while you can throw in a little chicken stock or water, lower the heat and cover them with a lid for a minute or two but make sure they are not mushy or totally wilted)

Then add a decent amount of salt (to taste) and the juice of the lemon. Finish off with the pistachios and toss it all on top of the roasted brussels and serve it up!

I'll fill you in on the other recipes soon but I have to act somewhat like a college student and pretend to get some rest for my classes tomorrow (The history and production of Beer, Microeconomics & Food Writing. I hope they are interesting because I have a tendency to doodle...)