Lorraine's Brussels Sprouts

One of our neighbors brought this dish for Thanksgiving and the brussels sprouts fans in the group loved it.

1 lb brussels sprouts
2 T Dijon mustard
1 cup dried cranberries (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, then drained)
2 T butter
1/4 cup honey
salt & pepper to taste

1. Trim sprouts and cut an X in the stem. Remove outer leaves. Soak for 10 minutes in lightly salted water.

2. Steam sprouts for 8 minutes, until almost tender. Drain and rinse until they are bright green. When cool, cut into quarters.

3. Melt butter, and cook sprouts in it for 1 minute.

4. Mix honey and mustard and add to pan with sprouts. Add cranberries.

5. Heat over medium until tender.

Grilled Broccoli and Lemons

I found this in a "10 ideas for: broccoli" article in real Simple. It may not sound like much, but it's really quite tasty. I think I like the roasted lemons the most.

Total time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

1 bunch broccoli, cut into 8 large spears
2 lemons, quartered
2 Tbsp olive oil (+ more)
salt & pepper

1. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli and lemons in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Grill the broccoli and lemons over medium heat, turning occasionally, until tender and lightly charred, 10-15 minutes.

3. Squeeze the lemons over the broccoli and drizzle with additional olive oil.

Butterscotch-Nut Bars

This is adapted from a recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates. I made it last weekend and it was a huge hit.

1.5 cups raw unsalted nuts (cashews, pecans, & almonds)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1//2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1.75 cups white flour

syrup:
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9x13 baking pan.

Toast the nuts on an unoiled baking sheet for 7-10 minutes, until golden; then chop toss with 3/4 tsp salt, and set aside to cool.

In a heavy saucepan or skillet, heat the butter until it begins to bubble, turn amber colored, and leave tiny brown particles on the bottom on the pan. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and refrigerate 10 minutes.

Beat the brown sugar, egg and vanilla into the cooled butter until creamy. Sift in the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and half of the flour; mix until blended. Sift in the rest of the flour and mix until the dough is stiff and forms a ball. Press the dough evenly into the bottom on the prepared pan and set aside.

For the syrup, warm the butter and sugar on medium-low heat in a saucepan just until the mixture bubbles vigorously and the sugar begins to melt. Add the water and stir until most of the sugar has melted into the syrup. Toss the nuts in the syrup and spread evenly over the dough.

Bake for 25 minutes, until just golden and firm. Cool and then cut into 24 bars.