Brussel Sprouts

For most of my life I associated the words "brussel sprouts" with all that is disgusting and torturous. I don't really know why, since I really don't recall ever eating them until after I was out of college. I don't remember my mum ever cooking them, and so of course I don't have memories of being forced to eat them. I think they had just gotten a bad reputation from people, and I believed it, so I never bothered trying them.
One day, some time after college, I was at a lunch with my colleagues where brussel sprouts were being served. "Welp.. This is it!" I thought to myself. "Here goes... don't choke... that would be rude.... *bite* *chew* *swallow*.... hey, that's not so bad!" And ya know what? I enjoyed it! I believe I even had seconds.

But those were prepared and cooked by someone else. She must have known some great secret, and if I were to attempt cooking them myself then they surely would turn out terrible.

Another few years went by.

This past December as I was deciding what to prepare for Christmas dinner I asked my husband if he had any requests. And wouldn't you know it, he asked for brussel sprouts! I was kind of afraid to attempt it, especially for Christmas dinner. Of all the dinners I make in the year, there are 3 that I cannot allow myself to ruin: My husband's birthday dinner, Our Anniversary dinner, and Christmas dinner.

I dug around online for a while and eventually gained my barrings on what I was doing. And then I had a practice run. I was going to be sure I knew ahead of time if it would be a bust. So I went to the store and bought a small amount of brussel sprouts and cooked them for a snack while my husband was still at work.

And ya know what? They were really good! Good enough, in fact, to make for Christmas dinner.

Here's what I did after combining a few online recipes I found....

Washed brussel sprouts, removing tough outer leaves then sliced them in half, lengthwise.
Rubbed halves with olive oil (and had super soft hands when I was done).
Put about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and heated at medium heat (not too hot).
Placed brussel sprouts in skillet, flat side down. Covered with lid for about 5 or so minutes. Stabbed with fork after a few minutes to see if they were tender (but not mushy).
Seasoned with a few pinches of salt and some pepper.
When tender, I turned up the heat and let the flat sides brown up a little. 

Done! While eating I dipped them in a little bit of Grey Poupon mustard.

Success!

My husband and I eat them all the time now because he still requests them, and because I like them too. :)