Brussels Sprouts with Buttered Pecans

. . . and it's another Boistfort Valley Farm recipe today! I've been nervous and excited about this one, because I don't have a lot of experience with brussels sprouts, aside from hearing a bunch of people say they don't like them (not you, Em!).

Ingredients:
1/4 c. pecan halves, roughly chopped*
2 T. butter, divided*
Coarse salt*
Honey (about a teaspoon)*
Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered depending on size
Freshly pressed garlic (a couple cloves)
Lemon juice (a splash or two)
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread out the chopped pecans in a small, shallow baking dish. Bake for about 10 minutes, until they're somewhat darker and fragrant. While the pecans are baking, bring a large-ish pot of water to boil. Then salt the water and add the brussels sprouts. Cook the sprouts for about 5 minutes, or until just tender. Then move them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the sprouts and dry them off somewhat. (The original recipe said to pat dry, but this was difficult to do. I ended up squeezing them gently to get some of the water out.) When the pecans are finished baking, add 1/2 tablespoon of the butter to the baking dish, along with a pinch of salt and the honey. Toss to melt the butter and coat the pecans with the sweet, buttery goodness. Put the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and the garlic in a large [cold] skillet. Put the skillet on the stove over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is sizzling and fragrant. Increase the heat a bit, then add the sprouts. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Then add some pepper, some salt, and the lemon juice (the lemon juice will help deglaze the pan a little). Sprinkle with the pecans and enjoy!

*You really may want to consider upping these amounts, because oh.my.gosh. the roasted and glazed pecans are so amazing that you're going to want to eat a ton of them while you're waiting for the brussels sprouts to cook. In fact, you may want to make a lot more and save the extras to put on other things, like ice cream. And sardines. And old rubber tires.

Comments:
This was quite yummy. Definitely repeatable. (Go, brussels sprouts! Stick it to the brussels-sprout-hating public!) The original recipe said to halve or quarter the sprouts only if they were really large. But we decided that our halved and quartered sprouts had a better texture and also absorbed the flavors more than our whole ones, so we say chop 'em all!

Despite the fact that the final product was quite good, you might be wondering, Wouldn't you rather have had a plateful of just the glazed pecans? My answer? Absolutely.