Brussel Sprouts with Shallots and Bacon

Am I terrible if I just say that my pet peeve with online recipes is having to read through the life story and the history of the pig the bacon came from and the different ways the dish has changed the author’s life? Let’s just leave it at this: last year this dish made it’s appearance at Thanksgiving and now my family won’t allow me to come to any holiday dinner without it. And without further ado, here’s how to make it:

Brussel Sprouts with Shallots and Bacon

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts

1 package bacon, fried and chopped into bite sized pieces

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt to taste

Make it:

1. First wash and prepare the Brussels sprouts - I chop the bottoms off and pull off any leaves that are loose or that don’t look fresh. This last time I made them they were HUGE so I cut them in quarters but usually cutting in halves works fine. Go with what you consider to be bite-sized.

2. Place the brussels into a large pot of water to boil. The amount of time this will take depends a lot on the size of your veggies and how many you use. It usually takes about 20 minutes from the time I put them on the heat to the time I take them off regardless of how long they boil for. The trick is just to get them soft enough to cook properly later.

3. While the Brussels are boiling I chop the shallots and sautée them with 1Tbsp of the olive oil over medium-high heat. After about 3 minutes I add the chopped garlic.

4. Set the shallot/garlic mix aside and use the remaining olive oil to fry the Brussels sprouts just enough to get them slightly browned.

5. Mix the brussels with the shallots and garlic and salt in a pan. This is where I usually refrigerate for later to take to the party and heat later but you could heat them right away. Usually 30 minutes at 350 degrees is just right.