Ideas for tuna, corn, or brussel sprouts?

I'm cooking dinner for someone special on Wednesday. We've narrowed it down to tuna, corn, and brussel sprouts for sure (I already have the veg from our weekend at the Cleveland market, hopefully they won't rot by then). I've never cooked for this person before and I'm really excited about it.

Anybody out there have any "perfect" ways to prepare these items?

I'm cooking dinner for someone special on Wednesday. We've narrowed it down to tuna, corn, and brussel sprouts for sure (I already have the veg from our weekend at the Cleveland market, hopefully they won't rot by then). I've never cooked for this person before and I'm really excited about it.

Anybody out there have any "perfect" ways to prepare these items?

Maybe you should just get a cute little basket and play "Chopped" You'll need two more ingredients though. I pick balsamic vinegar and Spam.

Corn/Sprout Hash:

3 tablespoons of olive oil
12 fresh Brussels sprouts
2 thick slices of pancetta (or bacon)
1/2 onion (chopped)
6 mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
One ear of corn
2 teaspoons of chopped marjoram (or if you don't have oregano or just replace with more parsley)
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1/8 tablespoon of hot paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from 1/2 a lemon


Cut the pancetta to small pieces. Add to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes
Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan or a wok and when hot add the onion and sauté on medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
Cut the Brussels sprouts to thin round or strips. Add to the pan and raise the heat a bit. Sauté for about 7 min until the Brussels sprout are caramelized.
Cut the Shiitake to thin strips and add to the pan. Sauté for 3-5 min.
Cut the seeds from the corn ear, by holding the ear vertically and removing the seeds from top down with a sharp knife and continue all around the ear.
Add the corn and sauté for 3 min.
Add the herb and the spices and mix well.
Add the lemon juice on top and swirl the pan one last time

Thank you for the PM, Carol. I'm a lot like Stephen D. in that I have a hard time following recipes. I guess I was looking for more "cooking techniques" that don't involve a grill (I suck at grills, and I don't want to beseech his help on a dinner I promised to deliver even though he would probably make my Weber purr like a kitten as men tend to do).

I like the suggestions, Justin, but I'm trying to be off the bacon so I wonder if it would do justice to follow your recipe and omit the pork. I saw something for a shredded brussel sprouts dish - that looked good. I've looked at a lot of recipes online, but I'm still undecided. For a weeknight, I'm more inclined to go with something spicy, light and citrusy. Looking at au poives and citrus reductions so far. Bitter greens, not so much. A little recipe here, a little recipe there. Some root veg to stabilize between bites... This sounds to me like a Stevo evocation!

I promised to deliver even though he would probably make my Weber purr like a kitten as men tend to do).

I would like it entered into the permanent record that SOMEHOW I let this one go.

There was an awesome recipe on food network (think it was Michael Simon's) for brussel sprouts with dried cranberries and bacon that I made for Thanksgiving. EVERYONE raved about them. It had some red wine vinegar in it too.

[Robin Garr]

Simple recipe for brussels sprouts that turns them into a dish even sprout-haters can enjoy:

Simmer trimmed, halved sprouts in salted water until just done. Drain them. In a skillet or saute pan, heat a good ration of butter with smashed garlic cloves until the butter starts to turn brown and aromatic. Toss in the drained sprouts and cook until they're gently browned. Add chopped pecans, black pepper and a teensy pinch of cayenne. Dump into a serving bowl and have at 'em. I think it's the pecans that make the deal, but the garlic-scented browned butter certainly doesn't hurt.

Simple recipe for brussels sprouts that turns them into a dish even sprout-haters can enjoy:

Simmer trimmed, halved sprouts in salted water until just done. Drain them. In a skillet or saute pan, heat a good ration of butter with smashed garlic cloves until the butter starts to turn brown and aromatic. Toss in the drained sprouts and cook until they're gently browned. Add chopped pecans, black pepper and a teensy pinch of cayenne. Dump into a serving bowl and have at 'em. I think it's the pecans that make the deal, but the garlic-scented browned butter certainly doesn't hurt.

I pretty much follow Robin's recipe, except for the final step. Instead of dumping them in a bowl, I prefer to dump those sprouts into the trash.

Try this one. We made it a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving. Even the people who said they hated Brussels Sprouts, admitted they liked it. And it's REALLY easy.

Food & Wine's Shredded Parmesan Brussels Sprouts
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/shre ... ls-sprouts