Carrots were not a part of the plan. Last Saturday my sister and brother in law came over to celebrate a birthday and it was meant to be a gourmet event! We were pulling out all the stops, shrimp, steak, homemade chocolate cake and asparagus with lemon beurre blanc. But disaster struck in the form of a dangerous creature – a grocery-shopping husband. It’s true, in my rush to get everything ready, I sent my non- vegetable eating husband to the store on a last minute run. He came home with cheese, chocolate, wine and asparagus that was so mushy I wouldn’t serve it to my basset, and that says a lot. Yikes!
Spinach and tomatoes were already a part of the shrimp recipe. Our back yard is bursting with okra and eggplants, sadly, adored only by me. Besides the stray onion or two, celery, and a bag of radishes, the vegetable drawer had – carrots. Granted, they were fancy carrots from Trader Joes that are different colors, but still carrot dishes don’t usually take a staring role in a celebration dinner.
That was about to change. Enter my grandmother’s iron skillet. I’ve never managed to make anything less than delicious when I cook with it, so I bravely added a pat of butter to melt while I peeled and sliced the carrots. They were certainly pretty colors, orange, purple and white. When the butter melted, I put the little guys in to soften and get some flavor.
Then I looked around the kitchen for something – didn’t exactly know what! I spied a bottle of bourbon – how could that be bad – and grabbed the container of brown sugar. The carrots smelled good and were starting to get a little glossy with butter so I added a splash of bourbon and a generous handful of sugar, lowered the heat and covered the carrots. There they sat simmering away while the rest of dinner was completed. At the last minute, the lid came off and the carrots, and they cooked a minute to get a beautiful glaze To finish the carrots got a good sprinkle of salt and pepper and a topping of freshly snipped chives. Admittedly they were beautiful. We sat down to dinner with candlelight, music, steak , shrimp and …..carrots. Believe it or not, the carrots were the biggest hit, delicious and unexpected. My sister and I couldn’t believe how good they were; in fact I had to make them again last night. Same results- fabulous; there was not a carrot bite left, licking the plate almost became a viable an option. Bunnies never had it so good!
Bourbon and Brown Sugar Carrots
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled and sliced in ½ inch rounds
3 Tbsp butter, divided
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt or more – it really brings out the taste
Pepper
Optional: 2 Tbsp chopped chives
Directions
Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium high heat.
Add carrots and stir for a minute to distribute butter.
Turn heat to medium and add bourbon.
Cook for a minute to let bourbon begin to evaporate then stir in brown sugar.
Cover the skillet and lower heat to barely a simmer.
Allow carrots to cook for 5 to 7 minutes stirring a couple of times.
Uncover, add salt and pepper and remaining butter and allow glaze to thicken 2 to 3 minutes.
Top with chives if desired and serve. Enjoy!
