Parmesan Shredded Brussels Sprouts
Image via Jessica Ryan/The Entertaining House taken with an iPhone 4S
We went from 90 to 50 in just hours it seems. The air conditioning is off, fans are off and, at night, windows are shut or opened just a crack. We're crawling under blankets and down duvets. It's marvelous sleeping weather. In the morning the chilly air warrants a light jacket or heavy sweater which we can take off during the day and put back on at night.
The cooler days and nights mean warmer, heartier dinners - comfort foods like soups, stews, hearty pastas, meatloaf and the like. We also opt for heartier vegetables. My children happen to love roasted Brussels Sprouts. We love them with their edges golden to deep brown, almost burned, caramelized and soft and sweet. Tonight I had a package shredded Brussels Sprouts and I decided to saute them in olive oil instead. I got the same deep caramel color and they were delicious - but I wanted to try something new, something richer, heartier, a tad bit more decadent. I took some shredded parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup, and spread it over the top of the pan. The cheese melted in beautifully and quickly - I tossed it in so that the melted cheese was evenly distributed over the Brussels Sprouts, and I let the cheese crispen up, stirring all the while so that it didn't stick to the bottom of the pan. What resulted was a vegetable dish that was just decadent enough - cheesy, gooey, crispy and incredibly flavorful. I divided the vegetables into 4 servings and placed each serving in a ramekin. The ramekins were scraped clean. There were requests for more, but alas, there wasn't any!
Image via Jessica Ryan/The Entertaining House taken with an iPhone 4s
1 package of freshly shredded Brussels Sprouts. (Stew Leonards and Trader Joe's both sell them.)
2 - 3 tbs of olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 - 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese