Brussel Sprouts!

Bacon Garlic Brussel Sprouts to be more precise.....(my own original dabblings)

Blanche about 1.5 to 2 lbs of brussel sprouts - cool them off quick in cold water. Trim all and cut all but the smallest ones in half. Dice 1/2 lb of good bacon and coursely chop 8-10 cloves of garlic. Brown the bacon on hi and then add brussel sprouts and garlic and saute all for about 10 min or so - w/o straying far. Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper a bit and add olive oil a couple of times if things start to dry a bit - and keep going until the cut side of the sprouts has taken some good caramelly color and then stop - and serve 'em hot.

ALL brussel sprout foes have been defeated by this recipe to date! I'll be preparing a double to triple shot of this w/ the Tbird next thursday....

Purplehaze,

Thank you for the pumpkin bread recipe. Despite me starting a low carb diet, I couldn't sleep and decided to try out this new recipe...which turned out to be a minor disaster.

I didn't have vegetable oil, so I used olive oil instead. I put too much canned pumpkin and tried to cancel it out with 3 tablespoons of flour. Oh yeah, I mixed up the nutmeg and cinnamon. Recipe calls for 2 tsps of cinnamon and 1 of nutmeg, I switched it. So to cancel that out, I put an extra tsp of cinnamon.

Ok, the recipe wasn't followed exactly. Sorry to butcher your recipe, this is the second time I have screwed up dessert this month. First time was pumpkin pie a weeks ago (in which I put too much pumpkin also). Ahhhh!!!

The bread was edible, just smelled too much of nutmeg and not as sweet as it should be.

Sapril,

Thanks for giving me a chuckle early on a rainy, gloomy Monday. We made this yesterday, and I had a slice. Brought the rest in for the gang at work. Try it again.

PH

I brought the bread with me today and my classmates loved it and want more. Great way for me to rid myself of the other loaf

Sapril,

There you go re-gifting unwanted stuff again!
Let me know if you try it again. It's really pretty good...

PH

Purplehaze,

I have disappointed the bread making world again. Actually, I had a slice of the pumpkin bread this afternoon and it was good afterall.

Some people didn't like pumpkin, so my dumba$$ came up with the crazy idea of making banana nut bread tonight.

For some reason, nobody had really ripe bananas in stock. So I ended up smooshing ready to eat bananas in the recipe.

So far, the pans are still in the oven, the bread overflowed (but that is not a big problem) and the bread is brown on top and yellowish otherwise.

In 30 minutes, I'll see how it turns out and make another post.

quote:

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For some reason, nobody had really ripe bananas in stock. So I ended up smooshing ready to eat bananas in the recipe.

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My the time bananas are ready for bread (I like 'em when the skin is getting nice and blotchy) most stores have taken them off the shelves for aesthetic reasons. The only way to get a really ripe banana is to "do it yourself". Your adventures in the kitchen are proving to be a regular source of entertainment! Keep 'em coming!

PH

The two loaves of banana nut bread were tossed out. The middle part sunk in after being pulled out of the oven and the bread was too soft and squishy.

What did I do wrong? The things I did differently: used melted butter instead of oil, used a different flour (that shouldn't make a difference) and of course the stupid bananas didn't help.

I'm going to try the pumpkin bread again tonight after I go get resupplied with ingredients.

Sapril,

You are a hoot! Melted butter does not substitute for oil in baking. Use cannola oil. It's as healthy as you're going to get and doesn't impart the flavor that olive oil would. Good luck!!

PH

Ok, here's one from the back of the rack. My mom used to make this as a pre-dinner appetizer on Thanksgiving. This comes from the 60's American School of "weird comfort food," but is actually pretty tasty. Tough to match a wine to this, but what the heck!

Bacon Pineapple Tidbits

Ingredients:

Canned pineapple chunks
Bacon
Toothpicks

Cut bacon so that it will wrap once around each pineapple chunk. Skewer with toothpick so that bacon is secure.

Now, in the "old days" this dish had to be done under a broiler, with constant attention and some rotating of the tidbits to get the bacon cooked evenly without burning it. It is actually the preferred way of doing it, because the bacon cooks more quickly thus leaving a moister chunk of pineapple inside

BUT

it works just fine in the nuker. Just blast the tidbits until the bacon is done. Be careful, because the pineapple will be hot as you know what when it first comes out of the microwave.

PH

Oh great! My disasters in the kitchen has brought upon Thanksgiving MICROWAVE recipes?

I guess Purplehaze is just trying to do the Arlington Fire Department a favor by giving me this recipe

Sapril,

I've been laughing out loud reading of your exploits in the kitchen. Keep trying...I've tossed plenty of things I've made. (Out of the oven, into the trash...or "honey, if you want this, knock yourself out. But I'm not eating it!")

Speaking of the microwave, don't discredit that form of cooking too fast. You might not believe it, but my mom made our Thanksgiving turkey in the microwave for years. It turned out great. (Something like 9 mins per pound on Hi). But if you wanted it browned, you did have to put it in the oven for a few minutes. Nowadays, I don't think they make microwaves big enough to fit a turkey!

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Marie

Oh, by the way, I don't think I'd try a turkey fryer if I were you

Sapril,

Your substitutions are hilarious. (I say that with love, given I've been a domestic executive in training for going on five years now.)

If you wish to get the microwave out of the equation, simply do ham & pineapple. Oh, and don't forget the requisite toothpicks.

Happy holidays!

These disasters are nothing compared to my earlier days of cooking. Let's just say my most famous one involves steak and a Ford Explorer.

BTW, my sister is doing Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Purplehaze,

I did try the pumpkin bread again this morning. As I walked in the apartment coming back from an early morning workout, it smelled wonderful. It looks wonderful too. I didn't fill the loaf pan all the way to the top; therefore, the bread rose slightly over the top and broke on top nicely.

I'm 1 of 3 for bread making now.

Sapril,

Way to go! It won't help at all in your low carb regimen, but what the #$%& !!

PH