What's For Dinner?

One of my BFFs got married just last month and her rehearsal dinner was held at this place called Pizza Bella. It's located near downtown Kansas City, Missouri and is a very intimate, upscale brick oven pizza joint. Also, it's delicious. BUT while we were there they served us the most delicious brussel sprouts I have ever tasted. They had been roasted somehow with a slight burnt end, but overall slightly crunchy.

So when I saw b-sprouts go on sale I thought I'd pick up a bag and test it out myself. Fun story: once I confused brussel sprouts for alfalfa sprouts - this was obviously before my veggie connoisseur days.

I was a little intimidated by these little guys - what do you eat? where do I cut? what do I peel? But with a quick internet search I found that they are actually really easy to prepare.

First, peel off any loose or icky looking leaves. Then, chop off the core end about 1/4 inch up depending on the size of the sprout.

Place the b-sprouts in a baking pan or on a baking sheet that has a little bit of EVOO in it. Then drizzle some more EVOO on top and sprinkle with any seasonings you desire. I topped mine with cracked pepper, sea salt, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice.

I popped mine in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes at a time, shaking the pan and turning it in between. But.....this is where I failed. The one thing (ok, not true) the internet disagrees on is how long to bake b-sprouts. 16 minutes with a turn in between? 40 minutes with a shake in between? I guess it all depends on how crispy you want your leaf edges...I tried to incorporate both cooking times. I tested a sprout at about 20 minutes in and it was good. The edges weren't as crispy as I would've wished so I popped it back in for more time. Then more time. And they came out looking a hot, crispy, burnt, weird tasting mess. 

This is how they should look (picture me all Vana White like, showcasing you glorious brussel sprouts). I picked around my charred mess and some of the very insides of some sprouts were edible, but not good by any means. 

So I did what any normal person would do and had my BFF email the owner of Pizza Bella asking for their b-sprout cooking method. But for real, I did. She was at the rehearsal dinner and she was amazing. We talked about her work at Pizza Bella and how she just opened up another location and how she runs things like a boss (well she is the boss.....so). I don't need their seasoning recipe so hopefully she won't think I'm trying to steal her masterpiece and just tell me how to cook brussel sprouts already! We'll see. 

Update: I've since gotten the Pizza Bella recipe and have even tweaked my own here and there. I honestly think it's all about your oven heat. So all ovens heat differently so times will vary. I have learned to keep checking every 2 minutes after the initial 20 minutes. I also do like mine a little burnt so I just kind of keep an eye on the edges. But try these! They're delish.