Brussels sprouts...who knew?!

Okay, so we're clear on this...I am not a big brussels sprouts fan. Never have been. The little buggers are about as bitter as a mouthful of aspirin with a lime chaser.

At any rate, pinknest had mentioned that she had made some recently, and i think knotty mentioned them awhile back, too. So I had been considering making some (but certainly not steaming them). But since we eat on a low-carb diet, I had to forego pinknest's version, made with raisins and pancetta. But I want to try those! (Hopefully, she'll remember that when she invites us to dinner!)

So I bought some BS at the local farm market tonight on my way home from work, and made them according to this recipe:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately.

I was not disappointed. And Jess even ate them - which was really surprising to me. I should mention here that pinknest's version also came from Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa), one of my favorite cooks.