Easy and Delicious Brussel Sprouts in a Goat Cheese Sauce

I apologize for not having pictures of the actual dish, but I served them at my annual Prethanks party and they were GONE the next time I looked. Ho hum.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 packages of small brussels sprouts - about 40 in total

Note: Try to use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. For holiday cooking, I make a fairly large amount of these little guys but they ALWAYS get eaten. This recipe really does wonders for an unpopular vegetable.

• 8-10 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided) - If you end up using salted butter, cut down on the salt that you add when cooking.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of marjoram
• 1 cup of stock - chicken, veggie, store bought, home made - doesn't really matter...
• 1 small package of goat cheese, about 10 oz.

NOTE: I think an unflavored cheese is best for this recipe, but if you want to experiment with other types of goat cheese (pepper crusted, herb dusted, whatever), I don't think it would really hurt the dish. I tend to stick my goat cheese in the freezer for this dish so that I dont have an ooey-gooey mess when it comes time to add it to the dish.

Directions:

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top, keeping it intact. Anything you trim off can go into your freezer bag of vegetable ends to use for making homemade stock in the future!

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large heavy skillet over low-medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and let them sweat for about 10 minutes. If they are cooking too quickly then turn the heat down slightly. The pan should still be wet with butter and they should look soft and only slightly opaque when the 10 minutes have passed. Sprinkle the pan with the salt, pepper, and marjoram, add the other tablespoon of butter, and stir. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer),Turn up the heat to high and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should be brown and have a hard crust. Stir the veggies so that the spices get evenly distributed and the other side of the brussel sprouts can brown as well, about another 5 minutes. Add the stock to the pan and give it a quick stir, picking up any brown bits from the pan and incorporating it into the stock. Add your goat cheese to the pan. If you froze it, like I do, it will be fairly easy to cut and crumble evenly into the pan without making a big gooey mess. Give your pan a good stir - it should be simmering and saucy since your heat has been on high this whole time. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Allow the sauce to simmer and the brussels sprouts to cook through but not get mushy - about 10 minutes. Take off the cover about half way through and stir, checking the consistency of your sauce. If it is not reducing as you would like, leave the cover off for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Check the seasoning at the end. Serve immediately.

A last note: You can always add more salt and pepper at the end. Red pepper flakes? Whatever you personally like, but trust me, this fairly easy method of cooking brussel sprouts will please your guests and can serve a truckload of people. The down side? Unfortunately, there are never any left over.