My friend Janet Terry, OFAM President and Market Master, works at WUSA-9 booking the local news program. She often books chefs for the cooking segments. Lately, she passed along a recipe for Brussels sprouts that she swears was delicious, even though she usually dislikes the little cabbages.
The chef appeared on a three-minute cooking segment and demonstrated the dish. There’s videotape at:
http://jchayward.com/2011/11/16/blue-duck-tavern-on-9-news-now-at-noon/
It features John Melfi, Chef de Cuisine of the Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt. The printed recipe is there as well.
Now, there’s an interesting situation here: several ingredients the chef added to the dish in the tape appear to be absent from the recipe. I have heard that chefs often “forget” an ingredient or two when asked for a recipe, and this seems to be what happened –Chef Melfi added “plumped cranberries” and a handful of fresh herbs to finish the dish, which also was plated sitting on a bed of something.
But, you know? This dish has a heck of a lot going on even without that. I decided to make it according to the recipe, and it was pretty good. The best thing about it was the pickled onions.
Not only are they gorgeous to look at, but the recipe makes more than you need for the Brussels sprouts. They make a great addition to a relish tray, with cornichons and olives.
If you make this recipe, don’t cook the onions for long after you add them to the sprouts; they will retain their color and add both flavor and eye appeal to the dish.
