no, really. They ARE good.

of course, slathering anything in a bunch of butter and maple syrup AND chestnuts helps.

We had salmon last night, paired with a mess o' brussel sprouts. We freely adapted from a recipe in Field of Greens, the Greens Restaurant's second cookbook, that was recommended for holiday meals. (holiday food? In September? Well ... let's just say that sunny SB wasn't exactly conducive to a holiday mood for me, and I'm getting a bit of my own back by starting EARLY this year. Plus, brr! It's cold here and reacclimation is hard!)

We chopped a small yellow onion and sauteed it in 1 Tbl of olive oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes, or until it was softened. Meanwhile, I cut the ends off of the brussel sprouts (I'm not sure how many - maybe about a pound? They came in those little net bags, premeasured - on sale for 99 cents at Whole Foods last Saturday!) and sliced them, about 3-4 slices per brussel sprout. I added these to the pan with the onions, breaking them up and sauteeing them for another 10-15 min, stirring occasionally, until parts of them were starting to brown.

While that cooked, I took 3-4 Tbl of butter and softened it a bit in the microwave, then added 2-3 Tbl of grade A maple syrup and whisked it together into a maple butter.

Once the brussel sprouts had begun to brown, I added about 3 Tbl. of chestnut puree to the pan along with the butter, turning off the burner. (My chestnut puree had vanilla and sugars added, as it it's a little early for jarred chestnuts, and this was all I could find.) With a wooden spoon, I broke up the puree and mixed it evenly throughout, and voila!

I'm sure this is not the healthy way to eat your veggies, but it sure did taste good.