Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Living in California off-and-on for 14 years, roasted brussel sprouts became almost as much of a staple in my diet as avocados and fresh grapefruit. You go out to eat at almost any restaurant and everyone’s got their own version of roasted brussels.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, my godfather had a corporate apartment in Marina del Rey that he was kind enough to let me stay in for a week (nobody else was occupying it at the time) while I found something more long term. It was on the 11th floor (top floor) of the building and had an absolutely unreal view of Santa Monica and onwards up to the Palisades. But at the bottom of this building was an incredible steakhouse called CHARCOAL (incredible food, wait staff all knows the dishes and wine pairings by heart, I can’t say enough good things about this place).

My godfather and I met up for a drink here once and he said to me, “Shel, you’ve GOT to try the brussels,” so I did and I was hooked. I would have ordered these brussels every single day of the week. But being the broke 21 year old that I was, I found a way to make my own rendition of them at home and later as I started touring, this became my go-to dish for when I’d get home from a long stint of traveling because it was hearty yet light, full of protein and nutrients, and could work for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

This dish will make about 3-5 servings. It’s great as a side dish but I’ve also had it as a whole meal.

What You Need:

• as many brussel sprouts as you care to roast (one bag from the grocery is usually sufficient), chopped in half and washed

• carton of cremini mushrooms, chopped to your desired size

• 1/4 stick of butter

• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 3-4 slices of bacon (I usually cook off 6 and eat the extra strips in between prep, oops!)

• 1 white onion, diced

• maple syrup

• olive oil

• 3 large eggs (if doing more of a scramble, OR one egg per person you’re serving)

• large metal baking tray

• medium sized skillet

• large mixing bowl

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven for 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius). Rub butter on the top of your cooking pan to keep the sprouts from sticking.

2. Chop and wash the BRUSSELS. In a large mixing bowl pat them with a paper towel to get rid of some of the excess water (doesn’t have to be perfect). Coat the sprouts in a light layer of OLIVE OIL and MAPLE SYRUP.

3. Place the sprouts evening on the tray flat side down and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

4. Chop the ONIONS, GARLIC, and MUSHROOMS. Set aside.

5. Check on your Sprouts. The flat side should start to be a bit golden brown (if they’re not, turn your oven up to 420 degrees Fahrenheit (215 degrees Celsius).

6. Heat your skillet on medium heat and add your BACON. Fry until crispy and side aside. SAVE THE FAT.

7. In the fat, sauté the MUSHROOMS, ONION, and GARLIC until golden and slightly crispy. Add in BUTTER if needed.

8. Chop up the BACON.

9. Check on your Sprouts. They should start to look crispy. If so, put the sprouts out of the oven, add in the onion, mushroom, garlic and bacon and spread out over the tray. Throw tray back in the oven. SAVE THE REMAINING FAT IN THE SKILLET TO COOK THE EGGS.

10. If needed, add in a dash of butter into the skillet and crack your eggs. You’ll cook them until they’re done “over easy,” or with a runny yolk in the center.

11. Pull the sprouts out of the oven and serve the sprouts with the egg on top (each portion should have an egg on top).

12. Salt to taste and enjoy!

French Christmas Soup

In 2019 I was on tour in Paris with a swedish pop artist. We played the L’Olympia theater and that evening for dinner the local catering chef made a stew that I believe we all went back for seconds of (and some of us went back for thirds…).

I asked the chef for the recipe and since then it’s been my favorite dish to make, especially after Christmas presuming you made a holiday ham for Christmas dinner (and perhaps even still have the carcass).

Like all stews, the proportions and the “how much of’s” is completely up to you and your own personal preference. When I make this soup, I make about 5 quarts worth which can feed about 5 people (because they’ll all be wanting seconds). Feel free to adjust as needed.

What you will need:

• large soup pot, 8-12 qts

• 6-7 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1-2 shallots, minced

• 1 large white onion, diced

• ham steak or leftover ham roast cut up into pieces

• 3-4 large carrots, peeled and chopped

• 2 chopped fingerling potatoes (cubed and then washed)

• 1 bottle of dry Prosecco (don’t go for the good stuff, Andre is fine)

• 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, minced without stems

• 4 cups of water

• 2 cans of pinto chili beans*

• salt to taste (shouldn’t need much)

• half stick of butter (salted or unsalted)

• If you want to make your own “chili beans” you will need:

  • 2 cups of pinto beans, cooked fully (can do more if you please; this should be done some time in advance)

  • paprika

  • onion powder

  • garlic powder

  • 1-2 scoops of tomato paste

Cooking Instructions (all in with chopping it should take 1hr-1.5hrs:

1. Chop all of your ingredients that need chopping — start with the GARLIC, SHALLOTS, ROSEMARY, HAM.

2. Throw those four ingredients into the soup pot with 1/4 of a stick of BUTTER (save the other 1/4 for later).

3. Cover and stir occasionally while you chop the CARROTS, POTATOS, ONION. In between, add in the rest of the BUTTER.

4. Throw those four ingredients in and add the whole bottle of PROSECCO. Cover and stir occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.

5. Add in the four cups of water and let simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

6. If you’re making your own chili beans, add in the TOMATO PASTE and SPICES now and save the beans for the end. Otherwise add in the CHILI BEANS.

7. Simmer until your heart’s content and salt to taste. The soup only gets better in the days after if you’ve got any leftovers.

Enjoy!