Brussels Sprouts with Bite!

I think brussels sprouts are awesome!!! Though I like vegetables, I associate most of them with being light, crisp, definitely tasty but never really hearty or filling. The exception, for me personally, are brussels sprouts. Maybe its their layers of tough little leaves, yielding that satisfying crunch, that makes me feel this way. I found a simple recipe from the The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook that yielded such sprouts in a snap.

All the recipe calls for is:
-brussels sprouts (I used large sprouts but split them lengthwise so they'd roast evenly)
-some good olive oil
-kosher salt
-freshly ground black pepper, and
-an oven.

I made my life easier by using my toaster oven. This is great for a number of reasons--- a) it's just enough space when cooking for one b) it's less cleanup when you're done b) cooking takes 1/2 the time it normally would (this recipe recommended 35-40 minutes of cooking time- my sprouts were done in 20 and d) you don't have to move all your pots and pans out of the oven (if you live in a shoe box in the city like I do and have no place else to store them). Line the tray with foil and you're good to go!

I must have gone a little crazy with the pepper grinder, so my batch of sprouts turned out quite peppery, but still delicious. Loose leaves were slightly browned and crisped during the roasting process and collapsed on the tongue like thin, delicate potato chips.

Here they are before they went into the oven...