Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts have never been my favorite...I think it had something to do with them always being served boiled and smothered in butter, which wouldn't be a problem, except that they look like little cabbages. Not happening.

As I grew up and admitted that my taste buds could maybe change, I did discover that there are a few other options for cooking such unfortunate veggies. One being roasting, but I'll get into that at a later point, but this weekend I found a short little blurb of a recipe in a magazine that just about blew my mind. 

So, you'll just need:

Pancetta, or bacon.
Shallots, or onion.
Thyme
Lemon juice
Brussels Sprouts

Trim the sprouts and cut in half. Boil the sprouts until only just tender. 

Chop the pancetta and fry until just cooked. Add the shallots and continue frying until the shallots are soft. Add the sprouts and fry it all together. Add a bit of thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice, toss, and fry until the sprouts are nice and tender and have a little bit of brown on the edges.

Throw the lot into a bowl, sprinkle on some kosher salt, and you're set! Or, put it in ramekins for individual servings.

Crystalized Mint Leaves

As a nice little garnish for your sorbet, these mint leaves are easy-peasy and taste to boot.

All you need is:

Mint leaves
Egg white
Granulated sugar
Mint extract

Dip your fingers in the egg white and rub it on the mint leaves so they have a thin coating all over. Lay out the eggy leaves on a dry, flat surface. I find a sheet of parchment works best, especially if you lay them on a cooling rack.

Mix a couple of drops of the mint extract with a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Dust/sprinkle the sugar over the still wet mint leaves.

Move the rack over something hot and dry. Couple of options are to turn your oven on and put the leaves, on the rack, above the oven or, like I did, lay the rack on top of the the fireplace. But, either way, if you leave them over night, they should be dry.

Be careful handling them when they're dry as the leaves are quite brittle.

Raspberry Sorbet

Fresh raspberry sorbet is always delicious...even better if it's made with equally fresh berries. Unfortunately, in the middle of February, fresh raspberries are pretty thin on the ground, and pricey in store. So, for this recipe from The Food Network, I used frozen raspberries from our own garden, added some crystallized mint leaves, and sat back and waited for a hot summer day. 

This recipe says it makes 4-6 servings, or 2 quarts. And, because I used frozen berries, my measurements were a bit off. By my calculations I used one and a half freezer bags which, in normal speak, is about 4 to 5 cups. Also, I don't keep a lot of limes running around so I used lemon juice instead.

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 quarts raspberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup white corn syrup

Directions
Boil the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for a few minutes, at least 3. Set it aside to cool completely....and make sure it's all the way cold, I put the pan in a bowl of ice if I don't have a lot of time to wait around...or the ice cream maker won't freeze everything properly. 

Puree the raspberries and lime (or lemon) juice in a food processor (or blender). If you like your raspberry flavor nice and strong then this is the process to stick to. BUT if you prefer it a little less tart, you can always go through the work of straining the berries first, to get rid of the seeds before pureeing. Which ever way you prefer, when everything is smooth, press the puree through the a strainer to remove any seeds or blemishes or rock or dirt....or whatever ends up in your raspberries. Whenever your syrup (the sugar water mixture) is nice and cool, add it to the berries. Finally, add the corn syrup and stir it all together.  

Pour the lot into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. It'll seem quite soft even when it should be finished, more so than actual ice cream. But no worries! It'll firm up when it freezes. 

This is a spectacularly delicious dessert for any dinner, but especially following a large meal as it's nice and light, and looks nice with some mint and maybe a fresh berry or two.