11 March 2009

last night's dinner

This is a dish I didn't make represented in a photograph I didn't take.

I'm in the midst of writing this frustratingly large paper. Luckily, ~r cooks for me (all the time -- not just when I'm writing major papers). Last night, he really shined. He roasted a whole chicken, roasted brussel sprouts and tossed in toasted pine nuts (actually, I did the tossing -- it was my contribution) and made a mushroom rice pilaf. It was The Perfect Dinner.

My favorite part was the brussel sprouts. I don't understand how people cannot love brussel sprouts. They're such tasty little bites of goodness. They're easy to ruin, I guess, and certainly a soggy tasteless yet slightly bitter brussel sprout is pretty gross. Luckily, ~r has mastered the brussel sprout. He sautees them on the stovetop and then moves them into the oven to finish. Sometimes, we'll toss them with parmesan in addition to the pine nuts. Last night, cheese wasn't needed -- the brussel sprouts were creamy, but not soggy. They were a bit carmelized from baking in the oven, too.

Anyways, I'm still writing my massive paper, so this is all I'll write for now. But, suffice to say, dinner last night made me very happy.

6 Comments:

Blogger r? said...

Don't forget the 3/4 cup of chicken stock added to the pan as it goes into the oven. Yumish!

5:05 PM  
Blogger Barb B. said...

yum -- actually, we had brussel sprouts and chicken last nite too, but not as tasty as yours, i think -- although the chicken was pretty good

4:44 AM  
Blogger Heather W. said...

I've never seen such beautiful brussel sprouts. I ate a lot of them in Afghanistan, but somehow I don't think they tasted the same.

5:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I LOVE brussel sprouts, but have never had them with pine nuts . . . or roasted. Definitely going to have to try that. It looks delicious.

8:23 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Gorgeous picture!! I also love Brussels (or brussels) sprouts, so I had to post this. I thought they were "brussel" sprouts until I saw the word in a cookbook about 4 years ago. I was shocked that I had missed the "s" my entire life. They were grown in Belgium 700 years ago. I like to roast them, but I also often saute them in a skillet with loads of garlic.

10:36 AM  
Blogger Deepfry said...

"Brussels"!! Who knew? not me! that's an excellent fact-of-the-day.

and thanks for complements on the photo. a perk of dating a photographer.

10:52 AM  

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