The Rest of Second Wednesday

Besides our totally delicious Roast Leg of Pork we also dined on Blanched Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Red Potatoes.

There was considerable trepidation when it came to the Brussels Sprouts. The Smart family felt they could share one between the four of them. Several of my family members stated unequivically that it would be over my dead body that one of 'those' crossed their lips. Undaunted I purchased two giant stalks of them. They come either in little bags of about 25 or these foot and a half long stalks with about a hundred on them. Since everybody was so sure they were going to hate them I figured I had better be prepared with extra because they would probably just love them.

That didn't exactly happen. Those who already loved them thought they were the best they had ever eaten and those who knew they would hate them did.

Julia's recipe is pretty simple. Make sure you buy them when they are fresh as evidenced by their being both firm and bright green. Prepare them by trimming the stems, removing any wilted or loose leaves and puncturing the ends of the stems with a cross about 3/8" deep. Then plunge them into at least 6 quarts rapidly boiling salted water (1.5 t. salt per quart of water) and boil uncovered at least 4 minutes. At 4 minutes take one out, cut it open and taste for doneness. It should be easily pierced by the knife and tender but not overly soft when eaten. Mine took about 6 minutes to get there. At this point she makes them wonderful by folding them into several tablespoons of melted butter.

My family's Roasted Red Potatoes can actually be made with either white or red potatoes as long as they are the little ones. Wash them and remove any unsavory spots and cut the larger ones in half so that the pieces are all approximately the same size. Put them into a baking dish and add enough olive oil that all the potatoes are coated with it. Then liberally sprinkle them with Johnny's Seasoning Salt and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. I guarantee you'll love em.

The Bottom Line:
Blanched Brussels Sprouts-Thumbs Up
Roasted Red Potatoes-Thumbs Up