Brussels sprouts!

Over the past few months, I've taken a lot of risks in my kitchen. I've cooked new meals with creative recipes, most self-created, and realized how many dishes can be made to my taste. Nearly everything that I've made, I've enjoyed. Tonight was no exception as I tackled Brussels sprouts.

I've been talking about making Brussels sprouts since November. It seemed that many cooking magazines featured Brussels sprouts around Thanksgiving. It started a craving for them even though I had never had them before.

I've always heard bad things about Brussels sprouts. I've heard bad things about other foods that I found delightful, however, those had a few positive comments, too. I can't recall ever hearing someone say something good about Brussels sprouts. I looked at it as a challenge and I went for it. I was confident that I could make Brussels sprouts taste good.

I envisioned shiny, buttery sprouts accompanied with sweet vegetables and mushrooms. I didn't know what they were going to taste like, so I figured a broad range of flavors would be good. Plus, simply adding garlic and onion (and basil) to any vegetable will make it more than tasteful. So, that's what I did. Garlic, onion, shallots, basil and mushrooms. I used the Dutch oven because I had great success with baby red potatoes a few months ago. My vision paralleled those potatoes.

They were very easy to prepare, but somewhat difficult to eat. The sprouts a little crunchy while the other vegetables were soft in texture. It was a nice juxtaposition, but I'm not in love with Brussels sprouts. I'm definitely "in like" with them, though. They were good, indeed, but they're nothing to write home about (even though that's what I'm doing right now, assuming Liz will read this). Speaking of home, the sprouts didn't work with her. She said that she thinks she has an "aversion" to one of the herbs.

**It wasn't until I used the trustworthy spellcheck that I realized it's "Brussels" sprouts and not "brussel" sprouts. I'm pleased to still be learning daily.

Ingredients:
1 bag Brussels sprouts (16 ounces), trimmed and halved
1 onion
1 shallot
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp fresh basil
5 ounces mushrooms

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