We went to Hermann, MO last month with some great friends, Tax Girl and Golf Dad, to celebrate the end of tax season when they can actually have a social life again!  We stayed at a beautiful inn, enjoyed great weather and scenery and ate some good food (and some average food-sorry, Vintage Restaurant at Stone Hill Winery, you disappointed us again!).  It was a fun getaway!

We went to a deli for lunch, The Hermann Wurst Haus, where we tasted their homemade brats. They were delicious! I loved the maple- apple brats and Sales Guy liked the Andouille brats. We bought some to cook at home and when we did, I made fried apples to serve with them because I thought they would complement the apple brats. And they did.  Yum!

Fried Apples

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Ingredients

• 4 Apples (sliced)
• 3 tablespoons Butter
• 1/3 cup Sugar ((or more to taste))
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions

Step 1
Core and slice apples (do not peel).
Step 2
Melt butter in medium fry pan.
Step 3
Add apples and cook on low until soft, stirring frequently. (I usually cover them for part of this time). Total cooking time approx. 15 minutes.
Step 4
Add sugar and cinnamon and stir gently until well mixed. Serve hot.

If you are like me and long ago decided that you don’t like Brussels Sprouts, based on the boiled, mushy Brussels Sprouts your mother served once every six months (Sorry Mom! They looked kind of cute, but they smelled worse than the strongest cabbage ever. Thanks for not forcing me to eat them!), then you are in for a pleasant surprise.  These are not your mother’s Brussels sprouts! They are salty and sweet. The nuts add a delicious crunch and yes, they still look cute (and they still smell like stinky cabbage)! But seriously, try them!

And ok, I did have to use Wikipedia to figure out why the “B” in Brussels sprouts is capitalized. It is because they have long been very popular in Brussels, Belgium and may have originated there (footnote-which I didn’t read). Now, you too, are in the know!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2lb Brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 thick slices Pepper Bacon (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1/3 cup Sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup Pure maple syrup
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Step 2

Wash Brussels sprouts, cut off root ends and discard the ends. Then cut each sprout in half (you’ll have loose leaves. I throw them away). Place Brussels sprouts in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, and toss to evenly coat. Set aside.

Step 3

Cook the bacon until nearly crisp in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add sliced almonds and cook an additional 2 minutes (if you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, use a regular skillet and instead of transferring Brussels Sprouts to oven in skillet as directed below, pour into rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and place the baking sheet in preheated oven).

Step 4

Transfer the bacon and almonds to a medium bowl and set aside.

Step 5

Keep the skillet on the heat and add the Brussels sprouts to the skillet (in bacon grease). Cook Brussels sprouts in the pan for about 5 minutes or until they become a bit caramelized and get a tiny bit golden brown. Drizzle maple syrup all over the Brussels sprouts and stir in the pan to evenly distribute the syrup over the sprouts.

Step 6

Put the skillet in the preheated oven and roast the Brussels sprouts for about 30 minutes (see notes above), then add the bacon and almonds to the pan and roast for another 10 minutes or until sprouts are caramelized and golden. Add salt and pepper to taste.