No countdown

We discovered a new favorite way to eat Brussels sprouts.

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I first made it back on Christmas Eve. Or maybe it was the eve of Christmas Eve. I can’t recall exactly. But I based it loosely off of this recipe by Sprouted Kitchen, with some tweaks.

First, I halved the Brussels and cooked them in a cast iron skillet with both olive oil and butter until they were seared in some spots and slightly past al dente, but not all the way cooked.

Then I added 1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 tsp dijon mustard, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper (to taste), and a dash of nutmeg.

Topped with a few extra tbsp of parmesan cheese and off to the oven it went for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

WOW.

I realize heavy cream and parmesan cheese are a mega dairy dynamic duo and would probably make almost anything taste amazing, but I still felt compelled to share. I typically don’t use that many milk products in a single recipe, but divided into four portions, it wasn’t all that much. P seemingly can tolerate whatever dairy we throw his way, so my gut is the limiting factor at this point. These days, my body is not only less fragile, but I’m also less anxious about it all. I’ve learned to listen to it’s cues and I feel like I know when I can push my (fodmaps) and when I shouldn’t.

Anyway, I served it with grilled chicken and white rice and the kids were so obsessed they asked me to promise to make it again asap.

Which is why I decided to make it for our extra special fancy New Year’s Eve dinner.

Our night wasn’t actually fancy for any reason other than we splurged on filet mignon. We were still in sweatpants and pajamas. We did, however, watch a super special family movie!

We introduced the kids to Star Wars! [Starting with episode IV]

Naturally, they loved it. And now (for better or worse) they understand so many more cultural references and jokes/ads/etc they’ve encountered via friends and the media.

But let me back up to how the day started. First loaf of persimmon bread comin’ in hot!

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My parents gave me persimmons from their yard and the kids have been eating them plain, but I’ve been saving some for bread, but only just got around to it.

All winter, Kyle and the kids want loaf after loaf of persimmon walnut bread. Like, as soon as they finish it, they immediately want me to bake another. And this time around was no exception.

For lunch I had my favorite salad. Why not leave 2020 with a bang! And by bang, I mean my number one combo of farro, kale, nuts and cheese.

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And then finally dinner! [We popped some bubbly earlier in the afternoon because midnight is HOURS past my bedtime]

Kyle grilled the meat while I made the sides – Brussels and cornbread.

And then we watched tv, ate chocolate, and passed out…completely forgetting that the night was any different from the previous one. Covid times, amiright?