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The Richmond avenue

simple recipes + simple ingredients

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A Family Food Challenge + Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts

December 1, 2015

Family: the people who have to wait to eat their meal because you’re busy photographing their plate, but who still love you anyway.

This past holiday was spent in beautiful Austin, TX with Tyler and my in-laws. We drove down on Thursday morning and got in just in time for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Tyler comes from a line of incredible cooks, and his Nana’s sausage stuffing and his mom’s (Susan) sweet potato casserole and freshly baked beer bread are simply scrumptious. (Side note: I made The Pioneer Woman’s Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole, which turned out great. Can we all just agree that Ree Drummond can do no wrong?)

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The weekend was filled with the best things in life – football, long walks, long talks, leftovers, and more football. The weather was overcast and perfect for hot drinks and snuggling, and the neighborhood was filled with deer who constantly strolled the sidewalks, sat lazily on front yards, and peered out at you from behind trees.

Deer

My heart was full of love and gratitude.

However, temperatures began to rise as Saturday night rolled around when the First Annual Family Food Challenge was held! Susan had a great idea to get the entire family cooking, and we got to brainstorming and soon a list of rules were established.

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Rules of the Family Food Challenge:

  1. The 8 of us were paired off into 4 teams of 2.
  2. Each team was given one dish to create: a vegetable dish, a side dish, the main course, or dessert.
  3. Each team was allowed to pick a “mandatory ingredient” that had to be incorporated into the dish of another team.
  4. When presenting our dinner, we had to create and recite a limerick. 

It’s easy to see that as least one of us really loves Iron Chef.

And limericks.

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We spent the evening in the kitchen, sharing chopping boards and pans and measuring cups. We chatted and worked through our recipes with our teammates, and soon the results were in:

The Vegetable Dish: Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta (recipe below)

Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Team members: Allison, my sister-in-law, and Susan
The mandatory ingredient: Brussels Sprouts

The Side Dish: Bruschetta with Tomatoes, Diced Onion, Fresh Mozzarella, and Cilantro

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Team members: Myself and Bill, my father-in-law
The mandatory ingredient: Cilantro

The Main Course: Beef Stroganoff over Egg Noodles with a Tomatillo Garnish

Beef Stroganoff

Team members: Nana and Tyler
The mandatory ingredient: Tomatillos

The Dessert: Chocolate Kahlua Cheecake with a Waffle Cone Crust

Chocolate Kailua Cheesecake with Waffle Cone Crust

Team members: Darrell, my brother-in-law (Allison’s husband), and Jordan, my sister-in-law
The mandatory ingredient: Waffle Cones

Everything was delicious! We unanimously agreed that brussels sprouts did not deserve their bad rap, and we helped ourselves to seconds of the chocolate kahlua cheesecake. At the end of the night there was not an “official winner,” just a happy family that had spent the evening creating a wonderful Thanksgiving memory.

And until the next food challenge, here’s Allison and Susan’s brussels sprouts recipe!

Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
2015-11-30 13:47:33
Serves 8
Save Recipe
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
  2. 1 to 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  3. 10 oz. Brussels sprouts (about 18 medium sprouts), trimmed and halved through the core
  4. 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  5. Freshly ground black pepper
  6. 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
  7. Kosher salt
Instructions
  1. In a heavy 10-inch straight-sided sautΓ© pan set over medium- low heat, slowly cook the pancetta in 1 Tbs. of the oil until golden and crisp all over, 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the fat behind. You should have about 2 Tbs. of fat in the pan; if not, add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Have ready 1/2 cup water. Put the pan over medium-high heat and arrange the sprouts cut side down in a single layer. Cook undisturbed until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes. When the sprouts are browned, add the water to the pan, cover immediately, and simmer until the sprouts are tender when poked with a fork or skewer, about 3 minutes. (If the water evaporates before the sprouts get tender, add more water, 1/4 cup at a time.) With a slotted spoon, transfer the sprouts to a plate.
  3. Return the pan to medium-high heat and if any water remains, let it boil off. Add the balsamic vinegar and a few grinds of pepper. Boil the vinegar until it’s reduced to about 2 Tbs. and looks lightly syrupy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the butter, and stir until melted. Return the sprouts and pancetta to the pan and swirl and shake the pan to evenly coat the sprouts with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and more pepper and serve.
Adapted from FineCooking.com
Adapted from FineCooking.com
The Richmond avenue https://therichmondavenue.com/

 

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Your comments make my day. Thank you! Cancel reply

  1. John says

    December 1, 2015 at 5:30 am

    Looks like great fun, glad the family was all stuffed and happy there. The cheesecake is all I would want, mmmmmm yeah.

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 1, 2015 at 4:12 pm

      Thanks, John!! Yes, it was a great time – and the cheesecake was delicious!! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Espirational says

    December 1, 2015 at 11:59 am

    What fun! Love Brussels sprouts!

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 1, 2015 at 1:20 pm

      Yes, it was a great idea! I’m becoming a fan now! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. lynne hoareau says

    December 1, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    Hi Jasmine, what a lovely idea, sounds like it was loads of fun πŸ™‚ . The glazed brussels sprouts seems like a keeper !

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 1, 2015 at 4:30 pm

      Thank you, Lynne! Yes, it was a blast! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. sweetteasweetie (@SweetTSweetie) says

    December 1, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    I did brown sugar glazed brussel sprouts this year. They are such a versatile veggie!
    Kari
    http://www.sweetteasweetie.com

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 1, 2015 at 7:02 pm

      They really are!! So many ways to prepare it!

      Reply
  5. Chelsea Brazelton says

    December 2, 2015 at 12:52 am

    I want to make these brussel sprouts NOW!!

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 2, 2015 at 2:01 pm

      Haha, doooo it!!

      Reply
  6. Chellie says

    December 2, 2015 at 1:27 am

    Looks fabulous! And I agree, Ree Drummond is the perfect cook! Thanks for sharing πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 2, 2015 at 2:01 pm

      Thanks, Chellie!! She really is!

      Reply
  7. Lynz Real Cooking says

    December 2, 2015 at 1:41 am

    Looks like fun! I love the pictures!! yummm

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 2, 2015 at 2:01 pm

      Thanks, Lynn!! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  8. Anna says

    December 2, 2015 at 5:38 am

    Such a lovely post, Jasmine, and the family food challenge sounds awesome! πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 2, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      Thanks, Anna! The challenge was the best!

      Reply
  9. jade says

    December 2, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    your family food challenge is the best idea i’ve heard so far!! πŸ˜€ would love to do something like this with my family and friends πŸ˜€
    and brussel sprouts definitely didn’t deserve the bad rep they have!
    xx
    jade

    http://www.ohjade.com/

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 2, 2015 at 2:23 pm

      Thanks, Jade!! It was so much fun! It would be great to do with friends πŸ™‚

      Reply
  10. Linda says

    December 2, 2015 at 2:45 pm

    Looks like fun!! πŸ™‚ Everything looks great!

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 2, 2015 at 3:13 pm

      Thank you, Linda! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  11. creatively homespun says

    December 7, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    This looks fantastic!!! Thank you for linking up last week to Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesdays. I have pinned your post to our Tasty Tuesdays Pinterest Board! I hope to see you again this week!

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      December 7, 2015 at 10:46 pm

      Thank you so much! I enjoyed seeing all the recipes on the link party!!

      Reply
  12. Nena says

    January 8, 2016 at 3:39 pm

    How fun!! I am utterly loving this family challenge idea!! I love trying new and exciting things for our family gatherings and this idea is awesome! Plus, all the food sounds very creative and I like that it is not the traditional Thanksgiving dinner:)

    Reply
    • Jasmine says

      January 8, 2016 at 4:37 pm

      Yes, it was so fun! I think it’d be fun even for a group of friends to do one weekend. Good way to have fun and try new dishes!

      Reply

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Jasmine

Welcome to The Richmond Avenue! I’m Jasmine – wife, mother, pup-mom, accountant, bibliophile, and lover of all things pasta. Some of my favorite moments in life revolve around food, family, and friends, so I created a site to share recipes and stories in celebration of those moments. Read More…

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