Brussels Sprouts

Yeah, yeah, I know -- Brussels sprouts? Some vegetables are magnets for abuse, and the Brussels sprout is certainly one of the kings of that. But given proper respect, it is one of the finest of the cool-weather vegetables. Cooked properly, Brussels sprouts have all the delicate sweetness of great cabbage, but with a more complex vegetable flavor as well. If you really want to stun people, use them as a centerpiece--they come dozens to a single thick stalk, looking like a vegetable from Mars.

The Hart & the Hunter Go for the biscuits, stay for the Brussels sprouts. LOCATION In the Palihotel, 7950 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 424-3055, hartandthehunter.com PRICES Snacks, $3-$10; larger dishes, $11-$21; desserts, $6. DETAILS Breakfast 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. daily, lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, dinner 5:30 p.m. to about 11 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays. Credit cards accepted. Beer and wine. Valet parking.

Dear SOS: La Grande Orange Cafe in the historic Santa Fe train depot in Pasadena has the most incredible Brussels sprout salad. Do you think that you can get the recipe from the restaurant? Thank you. Greg Creighton La Canada Flintridge Dear Greg: This fun salad gets its crunch factor from blanched Brussels sprouts leaves, which work well tossed with colorful dried cranberries and blueberries and toasted whole almonds.

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us. Maybe it's the only day that you deign to watch football, or maybe it marks the culmination of five months of blood, sweat and beers spent glued to the television out of devotion to your favorite team. Either way, it's the one day of the year that America comes together over a singularly American sports obsession, and as such it's a darn good reason to party. Sports bars and restaurants across the city will throw open their doors in a high-def blitz. Here are a few of our favorite options: -- The Bungalow, 101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica.

Dear SOS: Please, please, please get me the recipe for the Brussels sprouts at Cleo in Hollywood. My husband and I ordered a variety of food at our dinner there, and the Brussels sprouts stole the show. I would love to get the recipe. It's the first time that my husband was actually excited to eat vegetables! Caroline Livengood Toluca Lake Dear Caroline: I've never had Brussels sprouts quite like this before. It's kind of like a salad - Brussels sprout leaves tossed with a tangy vinaigrette, capers and toasted almonds - except that the leaves are deep-fried first, giving the whole dish a surprising texture and crunch.

  Wilted Brussels sprouts with walnuts Total time: 25 minutes Servings: 6 1 pound Brussels sprouts 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 1 teaspoon minced shallot 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons walnut oil Salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts 1. Prepare the Brussels sprouts: Trim the dried bases and pull away any loose or discolored outer...

  Dear Culinary SOS: On our trip to the Russian River earlier this month, we had a lot of amazing food. The dish we can't get out of our heads is the Brussels sprouts at boon eat + drink in Guerneville. Everyone in town sent us in to the restaurant to try these out, and now we know why. We still can't get over the incredible flavor and texture; they were outrageous. Please help us get the recipe for this. It would be perfect for holiday meals. Rebecca Sommer Pasadena Dear Rebecca: Delicately crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, boon's Brussels sprouts are served warm, tossed in a simple dressing with bright notes of lemon and just a touch of heat from red chile flakes.

Tuxedomoon, at one time the darling of San Francisco's artsy neo-punk scene, moved to Brussels, Belgium, five years ago. Its first L.A. show since that move--Friday at Charley's Obsession--was more loony than lunar. Tuxedomoon's arty vaudeville featured pastoral and disturbing sound collages and drones, subterranean menace set to a beat.

There are two secrets to preparing this recipe by Russ Parsons. First, steaming the Brussels sprouts whole and then quartering them, which gives a beautiful range of colors, flavors and textures, from the tender, sweet, dark green of the outside to the bright, slightly bitter, crisp center. And not overcooking them; that's what creates that stinky sulfurous cabbage smell. To make Thanksgiving Day go more smoothly, you can cook the Brussels sprouts the day before and then cook the bacon and chestnuts and finish the dish shortly before serving.

Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 8 Note: From "Local Flavors" by Deborah Madison. Romanesco cauliflower is available at Bristol Farms and Whole Foods markets, select supermarkets and farmers markets. White cauliflower can be substituted. 2 garlic cloves Sea salt 6 tablespoons butter, softened 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/4 cup drained small capers, rinsed Grated zest of 1 lemon 3 tablespoons chopped marjoram Black pepper 1 pound Brussels sprouts 1 small head ( 1/2 pound)

What you think about Cortez is going to depend in large part on what you think about crowds, and noise, and screechy jazz, about well-meaning servers who are slightly impatient with the idea of service, and about spending most of an hour leaning up against a shoe box-narrow windowsill waiting for a seat to open up. If the idea of crashing a dinner party at the apartment of a friend of a friend sounds appealing, you're probably going to have a...

Although summer claims many of the sexiest, most attention-grabbing vegetables, such as eggplants, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, in Southern California the vegetables that thrive in winter are equally abundant and alluring. Roots, crucifers and peas may be available year-round, but winter is their time to shine. In the spirit of the many award ceremonies held in this season, here are some of my favorite early winter vegetables and producers who do an extraordinary job with them, based on notes, photos and tastings over the last 14 years.

What am I cooking for Christmas dinner? Well a goose, of course, a fine, fat one, cooked in the Barbara Kafka way that involves high heat and an hour of resting in the cooling oven; and my mom's sweet-and-sour red cabbage; and blanched Brussels sprouts finished in hot fat. There will be no foie gras this year for the obvious reason, so there may be another pâté, something absurdly luxurious made from pheasant and juniper berries or some such....

It is Thanksgiving morning. As you read this, the bird, a fine 16-pounder, is coming to room temperature on the counter. The green beans have been topped and tailed, and my fingertips smart from peeling smoking-hot chestnuts for the stuffing. I've reminded my mother-in-law that she needn't bring the cranberry sauce - my cranberries are chilling in the refrigerator next to the bottles of Alsatian Riesling. I still have to blanch the Brussels sprouts, whip the cream and peel a mountain of potatoes, but I am locked into the rhythm of the day. My knife work is clumsy, and my soufflés may occasionally fall, but I know how to do this meal.

  Total time: 1½ hours Servings: 4 to 6 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/4 pound applewood smoked bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips 1 large onion, diced ¾ inch 2 packed cups leftover turkey meat, diced ¾ inch 1 pound (about 2 medium) baked garnet yams, diced ¾ inch (candied leftover yams can be substituted) 2 cups cooked Brussels sprouts, cut into quarters 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves Salt and pepper to taste 6 ounces (about 1½ cups)

As of late September chef Bejamin Bailly has no longer helmed the kitchen at Dana Hollister's Silver Lake restaurant, Cliff's Edge. A little under a year after Bailly overhauled the restaurant's menu in a move that generated significant buzz , Bailly has been replaced by former Public Kitchen & Bar chef Vartan Abgaryan. No reason has been given for Bailly's departure, but Hollister and team welcome Abgaryan and his new menu featuring local, seasonal seafood, meats and veggies.

Blanch Brussels sprout leaves and they become tender enough to use in a salad. Combine them with dried fruit and nuts and dress the salad with a tangy mustard vinaigrette, as in this recipe from La Grande Orange in Pasadena, and you've got a perfect fall first course, as demonstrated in the video above by Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter. You can find the recipe below. Brussels sprout salad is one of the favorite holiday recipes we've collected in our "Los Angeles Times Holiday Handbook.

Yeah, yeah, I know -- Brussels sprouts? Some vegetables are magnets for abuse, and the Brussels sprout is certainly one of the kings of that. But given proper respect, it is one of the finest of the cool-weather vegetables. Cooked properly, Brussels sprouts have all the delicate sweetness of great cabbage, but with a more complex vegetable flavor as well. If you really want to stun people, use them as a centerpiece--they come dozens to a single thick stalk, looking like a vegetable from Mars.