It's that time of year. The time when a young man's fancy turns to Brussels sprouts! Mine particularly because I have a particularly scary Brussels Sprouts video I pull out this time of year. Sure it's a re-run. But if I can sit through A Charlie Brown Christmas every year for 40 years you can sit through my Halloween video one more time!

To accompany this video I do have a new recipe though. Brussels Sprouts and Chorizo by Bill Kim of Chicago's Belly Shack. It comes from Lucy Lean's new cookbook Made In America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food, and I whole-heartedly recommend both the recipe and the book. Because this recipe proves there are lots of great ways to cook Brussels sprouts.

In this video I am Braising the Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta & Balsamic. CLICK here for a printable recipe. But Bill Kim's recipe sees the little buggers sauteed in a hot pan and married to something sweet and something spicy. It's this unusual combination of Asian-Latin flavors (including chorizo) that make this recipe so interesting. I recently served it as a first course at a dinner party. But frankly, I'd eat this all on it's own as a meal.  It's an extremely easy preparation, but there are a few tricks. A good hot  pan ensures you’ll get good caramelization on the outside without cooking the insides to a smelly pulp! So make the jump and watch the video.

This is the final entry in my week long series of summer salads. It's a Farro & Tomato Salad with Basil & Anchovies and it comes (practically word for word) from Judy Rodgers.

I tend to be a tinkerer when it comes to recipes (if I follow one at all) but there are some cooks whose style and choices just click with me and the way I like to do things. Judy Rodgers is one such cook. She thinks about food and it's preparation. She gets all wonky about technique. So I know that every step and every ingredient really is all it needs to be. No more no less. I can't improve on that kind of methodology, so I don't even try.

Especially when it comes to an ingredient like farro. It's an ancient grain. But it's new to my kitchen. It's been a staple to the masses since Roman times, but suddenly the chic set has embraced it too. I first had it at one of Mario Batali's New York restaurants in the 1990s (in the form of a pan-fried cake) but this is my first attempt at cooking with it at home.

If you are unfamiliar with farro, well it looks a bit like brown rice. But it's a closer cousin to barley. The best version is the whole-grain version, partly due to all those healthful advantages. When you buy farro look for whole-grains that have been partially processed and have the brown outer hull removed. These are called "pearled", "perlato", "semiperlato", or "decorticato".

We have a winner in the Jarlsberg Prize package shown here, and I know who it is!

Now I could just blurt it right out and tell you. But that's not very Sippity Sup is it? Nope, I like to milk it for all it's worth.

As usual I have a video to announce the winner. It's a "live" drawing and you can watch me blather on and explain the rules. Then I'll draw one name randomly and we'll all know who that lucky person is. Doesn't that sound fun?

Because this is supposed to be fun. So to keep it fun, I hope we'll all keep the winner to ourselves. Let's give that person a chance to sit through the entire video waiting and wondering in anticipation. So please don't tweet the winner or congratulate them by name here in the comments. You can cry and moan and throw a temper tantrum about losing in the comments or on twitter all you like! But really let's let the winner suffer a bit, shall we.

If you are the winner send me an email in the contact tab above and I'll arrange delivery.