Recipe: Braised Brussels Sprouts

Continuing to enjoy our new kitchen and cooking at home, "R" and I recently made a great side dish using one of our favorite vegetables---Brussels sprouts. This recipe combined the vegetable with apple, bacon, and mustard...all good things in my book.

Braised Brussels Sprouts with apple, bacon, and mustard (makes 6 servings, total time = 40 mins.)

Cook:
4 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced

Add:
2 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1/2 cup thinly slices onion

Deglaze:
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp. whole-grain mustard
1 Fuji apple, cored and diced (we used an Ohio-grown Honeycrisp)

Stir In:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, diced
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large sauté pan over medium heat until crisp, 7-10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, then increase heat to high.

Add Brussels sprouts and onion to drippings and cook until sprouts begin to browns, about 5 minutes; season with salt.

Deglaze pan with apple juice, scraping up any browned bits on bottom. Add mustard, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook sprouts until nearly fork-tender, 6 minutes. Add diced apple, cover, and cook until tender, 3 minutes.

Stir in butter, vinegar, and bacon, then season with salt and pepper. Serve.

We eat Brussels sprouts often, and this was a delicious twist on cooking them. I loved the tartness of the apple and vinegar with it, and who doesn't love bacon?! The recipe came from the April 2012 issue of Cuisine at Home Magazine.

We paired this side with a bowl of Boursin Potato Soup (also Cuisine at Home recipe).

For that soup recipe, you'll have to head over to Crystal's blog today at Eat*Drink*Cleveland. I'm over there guest posting while she's enjoying and celebrating her recent wedding! Cheers to the happy couple, from one Cleveland food-lover to another.

I hope that you enjoy both recipes!