Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts

Kid Rating:  2 out of 3 really like it (the third needs time to get used to it)

Do Again?  Yes, but maybe without the chestnuts

This recipe is adapted from my antique cookbook.  I had purchased chestnuts at two different times, the second because I thought I could use a little more.  I stored them two separate ways.  Apparently, one of the ways was the wrong way, but I didn't know this until after I cooked them together and half the batch showed spoilage upon opening them.  Here is a link on how to store chestnuts:  click here.

There aren't as many steps as I make it look like; I just really spell them out.

Ingredients:

chestnuts

Brussels sprouts

salt water (*recipe for a brine solution on bottom)

butter

salt (I used Kosher)

pepper

Step 1A - Chestnuts -- This could also be a do-ahead step but within 24 hours.

Put chestnuts in pot of cold water.

Bring to boil (it took mine 10-15 min) - (Start Step 1B while waiting for it to boil)

Boil 5 min. (Shell should be soft).

Drain.

Cut and pull apart.  I cut mine in quarters to make it easier to pull nut out.

Step 1B - Brussels Sprouts

Trim stem to base.

Pull off wilted/yellowed leaves.

Cut "X" on bottom 1/2 inch deep.

   ....screeeeeetch -- stop -- that's what I started to do.  The "X" may be good enough for small Brussel sprouts, but I was cooking large ones this time.  So, I changed my mind.  Experience tells me to cut them in half instead.

Cut large sprouts in half.

Soak in salted water* for 10 minutes. (Start another pot of water boiling).

Drain sprouts from salted water.

Put sprouts into boiling water, return to boiling and boil 10 minutes.

Drain.

Step 2

Pre-heat to a "moderate" oven, which I interpreted as 300 degrees F (love these old cookbooks).

Spray baking dish with cooking spray or just rub vegetable oil on bottom of dish.

Layer dish with a portion of Brussels sprouts, chestnuts, dot with butter, salt and pepper.

Repeat with more layers.  (I only had enough for 2 layers).

Put a 1/4 cup of water into dish to "moisten."

Bake 30 minutes uncovered.

Chestnuts boiling on an open fire.

1/2 inch deep "X" -- better for smaller sprouts

Cut larger sprouts in half.

Soak in salt water*

Cut chestnut shells in halves or quarters to open
and peel.

Chestnuts.  It should have been twice as much.
Live and learn.

First layer.

Second layer.
I'll use a smaller dish next time.
Add 1/4 cup of water.

30 minutes later.

*Brine Solution - 1 Quart

I keep 1-2 quarts of brine (salt water) solution on hand in the refrigerator.  I use it as a marinade for meat to keep the meat from drying out during the cooking process.  The salt helps draw the water into the muscle cells while marinating.  Anyway, when the cookbook asked for salt water for the sprouts, it didn't give a ratio.  So, I just used the brine solution, and it worked out nicely.

Boil about 1-2 cups of water.

Add 1/4 cup of salt.

Stir until dissolved.

Pour into cold water so the combination equals 1 quart (=4cups).

Family Review:

11 y.o. -- Brussels sprouts were good, not crazy about the nuts.

9 y.o. -- "I LOVE Brussels sprouts!  The nuts are okay."

5 y.o. -- (Not used to it, yet.  Hates it before trying it.  Determined to continue hating it.)

Hubby -- "Best you've made so far.  They don't smell like Brussels sprouts.  Juicy, not too strong."

Me -- I liked them a lot.  Some of the nuts were really good, others not so much.  That could be from my poor storage although I thought I tossed all the bad ones.

I'll definitely make the sprouts this way again and will try the chestnuts with them next holiday season.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Revisited

Kid Rating: 2 out of 3 like it (You guessed it; the 5 y.o. is the one who didn't, as usual).
Do, again? Yes!


Thank you, Anna and "Utah Mommy" for the helpful hints you left in the comment section of the first "Roasted Brussels Sprouts" post. (Click here to see it). And thank you Aunt Terri for the variation -- I'll be trying that, too, now that I think I have the basic recipe down.


"Utah Mommy" tried my suggestion to cut the sprouts in half and shared her results:

"We tried this tonight. I cut them in half like you suggested and thought that made a big difference. I also probably cut off a little more of the stem then what should've been, but I think that's the part that makes them bitter.

Anyway, we did have to "stir" instead of roll, and I probably only stirred them every 10 minutes instead of every 5. I think they ended up cooking for about 45 minutes, but I think they would've been fine at about 35 minutes. Two people in our family thought they were a bit over-cooked.

Anyway, I think this one is a keeper. It's the only way I've found so far where everyone said that they would eat them again, even though our 8-year old wasn't completely sold. The 18-month old ate them though!!!"

October 14, 2010 5:39 PM

Encouraged by her results, I tried them, again. Here's what I did:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Trimmed stem off sprouts and removed yellow leaves.
Cut sprouts in half length-wise.
In a bowl: 3 T olive oil, 1 tsp Kosher salt, 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Stir sprouts in mixture to coat.
Pour onto baking sheet. Put into oven.
Baked for 30 minutes, stirred every 10 minutes and removed darkest pieces before putting back into the oven.

Unexpected bonus: Cutting the sprouts in half and trimming the stem closely created many leaves that fell away from the sprouts. These leaves browned quickly, and I had to remove them after the first 10 minutes. I was a little discouraged until I tasted them -- Oh, Yum! They were like little crispy potato chips. I ate them so fast before I could take a picture. They looked burnt but didn't taste burnt.

What I noticed: Small sprouts (about 3/4" diameter) are the least bitter. If I have a mix of sizes, I leave the small sprouts whole and cut the larger ones in half.

My Thanksgiving Day variation:
Same procedure as above but I used walnut oil instead of olive oil. (Sorry, no photo).


Family Review:
Big hit. All the guests liked them (except my 5 year old -- sigh).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Kid rating:  1 out of 3 like it
Do again:  Yes, with some tweaking


I got the recipe from here: roasted brussel sprouts  (allrecipes.com JAQATAC).  Many people on the site seemed to like it.  I raised the oven temp and reduced cooking time like some of the site's commenter's suggested, but I wish I had followed the recipe instead.


Preheat 400 degrees (I did 425)
1 1/2 pounds of Brussels sprouts
3 T Olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 ingredients - that's it!  I've never used kosher salt before.
I really liked it.  I finely ground the pepper so my kids
wouldn't bite into pepper chunks.

Trim sprouts and remove yellow leaves:

Before trimming

After trimming -- aren't they cute.

Put oil, salt, and pepper in bowl:

Put sprouts in bowl, stir to coat:

Pour onto baking sheet:

Roast for 30-45 min., shake pan every 5 min.

(I roasted for 12 minutes -- reducing temp to 400

after 10 min.)  They were smoking.

After roasting

Yum!  (I liked them, anyway).

Family Review:

5 y.o. - Tried but didn't like it.  I then gave him just the leaf; he didn't like the stem.

9 y.o. - Did not like it (and looked at me with a "sorry, mom" expression).  She said the outer leaves were okay.

10 y.o. - Ate it!  Would eat it again!  He said he rated it a 3 out of 5 stars.

Hubby - "It's an acquired taste."  He would eat it again for variety and eat it happily knowing how good it is for him, but it isn't something he would request.

I liked it, especially the outer layers.  The inside was a little bitter (the smallest ones weren't bitter to me).

Do-again changes:

1#, cut in half to coat inside as well.  I would have to stir instead of shake because they won't roll.

or

follow recipe exactly -- lower temp and cook longer --maybe cooking it longer will make the inside less bitter