PAGE 28 BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PANCETTA AND MAPLE GLAZE

I'm a BIG fan of brussels sprouts!  My go to recipe is taken fron Esquire magazine (if so inclined, you should read it for the recipes...I know!)  You cover brussel sprouts 2/3 with white wine, drizzle olive oil on top, salt and pepper and bake, uncovered for an hour at 400.  Charred and delicious, kind of smoky and savory.  But, I am on a quest to cook Mike Isabella's cookbook cover to cover (with my highly esteemed mother Doris), so I had to try Mike's recipe.  It's very good and a worthy alternative to my Esquire recipe.

First, I preheated the oven to 475.  Josh and I had an interesting discussion regarding the value of preheating the other day.  Other than for cakes and cookies, we think it's overrated.  I sauteed the pancetta and green onion then added vinegar, brown sugar and maple syrup.  I roasted brussel sprouts (for only 25 min!) and then coated with the pancetta sauce.  I would definitely have cooked these longer (to be fair, they were halved) but they were salty and savory and sweet.  I used grade B maple syrup from Trader Joe's, so it wasn't overly sweet.  A good alternative brussel sprout recipe.