What's For Dinner TONIGHT?

[Ellen]

... are ya gonna share the tips about the brussel sprouts? Please....

It's been a crazy week; sorry for the Brussels sprouts delay! (We're making them tonight...)
The waiter told us that after cutting the Brussels sprouts in half, they blanched them -- for only a minute or so -- to remove any bitterness, then shocked them in ice water to preserve the color. Then it's a simple pan sauté with salt, pepper, shallots and garlic. Hubby likes to add a little chopped bacon or prosciutto as well.

[Ellen]

It's been a crazy week; sorry for the Brussels sprouts delay! (We're making them tonight...)
The waiter told us that after cutting the Brussels sprouts in half, they blanched them -- for only a minute or so -- to remove any bitterness, then shocked them in ice water to preserve the color. Then it's a simple pan sauté with salt, pepper, shallots and garlic. Hubby likes to add a little chopped bacon or prosciutto as well.

Ooh -- I forgot -- and just before serving, toss in some toasted pine nuts.

[TripleGemini]

Thats supposed to be the rule at our house... but some how I end up doing both.

Have fun in Boston and be safe in your travels! Let us know details...

Well, I'm not sure that it was "fun"...my friend has volunteered to donate a kidney, so she underwent various tests and had appointments for two days. And she now knows as much about Mass General Hospital as I do ;-) (Background: She's from California, so she's spending her vacation with me. She can't donate directly because of our blood types...she's B+ and I'm O+...so they're putting us in the "paired donation directory" to see if we can find a corresponding pair. But for now it's just to see what's available because my doctor figures I have another year before I need the kidney. Oh, and thanks to Sandy, her vacation just got extended...she'll be here until Thursday.)

Friday night we had macaroni and cheese (with a four-cheese Mexican blend, sharp cheddar, and mozzarella...and it was really good!) Tonight we had two kinds of stuffed mushrooms (half with crab and half with spinach), leftover butternut squash, and leftover mac & cheese. And the omnivores also had grilled sirloin. Plus we bought a huge supply of cheeses today (if the power goes out, we can still get protein and calcium ;-) ), so we had some of that.

I'm hoping that tomorrow we might be able to get to Salem for a bit...today we were both so tired that we mostly watched TV and slept (when we weren't buying groceries). But that's going to depend on the weather.

[Fanny Mare]

It's been a crazy week; sorry for the Brussels sprouts delay! (We're making them tonight...)
The waiter told us that after cutting the Brussels sprouts in half, they blanched them -- for only a minute or so -- to remove any bitterness, then shocked them in ice water to preserve the color. Then it's a simple pan sauté with salt, pepper, shallots and garlic. Hubby likes to add a little chopped bacon or prosciutto as well.

I love to sauté them, I don't shock mine though. And I can be pretty shocking

[Cootie]

I don't know what I am having yet, thought I would come by here and get some ideas
The Brussel sprouts recipe sounds good. It is that time of year! I had some pizza yesterday at the Portland Farmer's Market with delica squash and bacon on it. It was delicious on a rainy fall day in the Northwest.

[nennie]

I'm having beef tips and noodles.

[Gutmutter]

Trying to use up anything that might go bad if we have a power outage... I made a stir-fry with onions, mushrooms, scallops, left-over butternut squash, swiss chard... pepper, turmeric, curry. yum!

[Fanny Mare]

Roast beef and yorkshire puddings, with mixed veggies and roast potatoes.

[Eastcoastmom]

I've never had Yorkshire pudding, Fanny Mare. What is it, exactly? I know it's an English thing. Yummo to the roast beef and taters.

[I'm here]

It's been a crazy week; sorry for the Brussels sprouts delay! (We're making them tonight...)
The waiter told us that after cutting the Brussels sprouts in half, they blanched them -- for only a minute or so -- to remove any bitterness, then shocked them in ice water to preserve the color. Then it's a simple pan sauté with salt, pepper, shallots and garlic. Hubby likes to add a little chopped bacon or prosciutto as well.

Ooh -- I forgot -- and just before serving, toss in some toasted pine nuts.

Very close to the way I make brussel sprouts. Though, I have never blanched them. I will definitely try that to see IF it makes much a difference. I usually saute them with chopped thick bacon, garlic and pepper. And I also like to sprinkle a little hot pepper flakes.

I just bought baby brussel sprouts... I will try the blanching method. Thats IF "Hurrican Sandy" allows me too. The weather is starting to get a bit tricky here... and we ALWAYS lose electric power.

Thanks for the tips, Ellen