Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Garlic

1 large bag of brussel sprouts or a stalk (they sell them like this at most grocery stores)

1/4 C EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 T. minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste
7 pieces of crispy bacon.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Toss the sprouts, EVOO, garlic, salt and pepper.  Bake the sprouts for 20-25 minutes until charred.  Do not over cook or they will be mushy and most people do not like them this way.  They should be like biting a nectarine…not hard like an apple and not soft like an overripe peach.

Remove from oven and mix with bacon pieces.  Serve immediately


Giada's Bacon & Brussel Sprout skewers

Glaze:
Brown butter for 2 min
Add cayenne & salt
Brown Sugar
1/3 C bourbon NOT I will instead add Beef Broth


Boil brussel sprouts for 3 min, slice in half and cool
Slab of bacon, cut into squares... cook in oven 10 min.

Alternate onto skewers brussel sprouts and bacon
Put onto grill and brush with glaze

Blueberry Pie

     What home-made dessert can one make when roads are too icy for a store-run, one egg is too few to bake a cheesecake, and three apples are too few for a pie? I baked a blueberry pie using frozen blueberries! It was SCRUMPTIOUS for a December get-together, and maybe even somewhat healthy.

5-6 C of frozen blueberries (frozen blueberries have as much antioxidants as fresh. Keep a bag handy in the freezer)
1 C Sugar (add in 1/2-cup increments--refer to steps 2 & 4 below)
1/8 t salt
6 T Corn Starch
Unsalted butter
A squeeze of lemon (optional--I did not add)
1/2 t nutmeg (optional--I did not add, but spices allow you to decrease the amount of sugar)
1/8 t cinnamon (optional--I did not add, but cinnamon does improve sugar digestion)

Prepare a Martha Stewart Butter crust (recipe below), mixed in a food processor OR use a Pillsbury pie crust

1. Slowly heat blueberries in a pan until just thawed (use a very low heat) as you prepare the crust
2. When berries are thawed, gently stir in 1/2 cup of sugar to macerate berries for 5 minutes encouraging juices to extract a bit more (lest the filling will be too wet)
3. Drain berry juice into a small bowl. Don't waste this healthful juice. Strain the juice to use as an eye-popping blueberry paste for pie-slice dazzle (heat & add 1/2 packet of unflavored gelatin to thicken. Cool and pour into a recycled honey squeeze dispenser). *Note, if you don't first strain, berry clumps will annoyingly clog the dispenser!
4. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar, corn starch, and salt... gently stir into berries
5. Pour berry mixture into prepared (Martha's or Pillsbury) pie crust
6. Add a few dabs of butter
7. Top with lattice crust
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes

Serve topped with Cool Whip or ice cream. Artistically squeeze blueberry paste on either side of each pie slice for added (ridiculously frugal) WOW & YUM -factor.

Prep time 45 minutes.


Martha Stewart Butter Crust (makes 2 crusts)

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp sugar
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 C ice water

Place flour, salt, sugar, & butter in the bowl of a food processor for a few seconds until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add ice water in a slow, steady stream, pouring it through the feed tube just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.

Turn dough out onto a work surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces,  Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out. While crust chills, prepare the apple filling.