Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

When we went to the first Farmers Market of the year a few weeks ago the selection was slim as it always is in April, but perhaps even a little slimmer, with the horrible start we've had to spring. We bought a handful of things - some bread, dried apples, fall potatos from cold storage, and some beautiful cold storage carrots too, I think they were called Dragon Carrots, or maybe Red Dragon Carrots.

I quickly tired of grating them into salads and serving them steamed with butter. I wanted something new and different. To us, anyway. And perhaps something I'd want to make more than once, we've got a lot of carrots. That very afternoon we stopped by the Symphony book sale where I bought 3 cookbooks including The Inn Chef, Michael Smith's first book. I am a longtime fan of his, I love Chef at Home, his series on the food channel and all his recipes I've tried have been very good.

And in this particular book I found a recipe for Balsamic Glazed Carrots - oven roasted carrots finished with a drizzle of balsamic. Mmmmm!

Aren't these carrots crazy? I love them!


Balsamic Glazed Carrots
The Inn Chef

1 lb carrots, cut into 3 by 1/2 by 1/2 inch (I just cut them into sticks)
4 tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tb the best balsamic vinegar you can find and afford (I think my bottle cost $4.)

Preheat oven to 400'.
In a roasting pan, toss the carrots with the oil and salt and pepper. Roast the carrots for 10 minutes, then shake the pan. Roast the carrots until caramelized, another 20 minutes, stirring them frequently.
Transfer the carrots to a bowl. Scrape the remaining bits and oil from the pan into the carrots. Add the vinegar and toss until the carrots are evenly coated. Reserve briefly or serve immediately.

Are you a food tv watcher? What's your favorite show/host? Who don't you like? Who do you miss?

12 comments:

Cyndi said...

I watch Food TV in spurts, so it's been interesting lately to see the new shows. The Neely's are so cute, Paula Deen goes between fun and obnoxious, I still love Rachael Ray and Giada D, couldn't stand Sandra Lee but I'm warming up to her since I realized I cook semi-homemade often, but my favorites are the guys (Tyler, Bobby, Guy...) and Ina Garten. She makes food I want to make. Who do I miss? Hmmm. I really don't know who's not around any more. It'll be interesting to see other comments.

I LOVE the look of those carrots - so easy, and since I love balsamic vinegar, I"m going to have to give this recipe a try with some mixed vegetables (onion, zucchini, carrots, bell pepper). I'll let you know how it turns out!

Engineer Baker said...

I either watch NCIS (or related shows) or Food Network. I could live on USA and Food Network, but can really only watch Alton Brown and Ina Garten now - the newer hosts are obnoxious, imo.
Love the note about the balsamic you used. Those are some beautiful carrots!

Juliana said...

Very interesting...never had these carrots. I'll really try to make them. The carrots look very tasty.

Karen Baking Soda said...

Oh I love these! Can you believe my kids ask for caramalized carrots? Food snobs that's what they are! Wonder if these will go down as well. (Think yes)

Annie said...

It seems like all I watch is the Food Channel. My favorite used to be Giada-Everyday Italian. They are all repeats now and I don't like her new show as much. She got a little to glam and a little less chef for me.
I still like her but I feel like my sister moved away and changed into a different person.(if that makes any sense to you)hehe
I am starting to like Guy, he really grows on you.
The carrots look amazing by the way. I love the simplicity of them.

nath said...

my first comment here...
and this is a new recipe for me.. I had never cooked carrot like this.. :)

Lien said...

Amazing these carrots, very pretty. Love balsamico, so it must be very tasty too!
Ah, you're spoiled having FOod-tv in the first place. We don't have that here, so I watch BBC-series when they're on. FOod tv all day long, that's a dream!

Sara said...

EB - I'm sure that expensive balsamic vinegar is really good, but who can afford to spend $20 or more on it? I like my $4 bottle.

NKP said...

I love Michael Smith. I ran into him by accident in Toronto at Williams Sonoma, he was just packing up a book signing and I was walking by.. I saw his amazing figure in the window and recognized him.. from behind! What a great guy. I got him to sign a book for me, and, in the end, even remembered to pay for it.
Those are some crazy looking carrots, they look great!

Sara said...

Natashya I am jealous! I "saw" him once at a food show in Calgary, he was doing a cooking demonstration. I foolishly thought the seats wouldn't fill up quickly so by the time we got to the area there were so many people you couldn't even see the stage. I stood and listened to his intro, then slunk off to taste test some more flavored vodkas.

Sara said...

BTW, Michael Smith is my favorite food tv chef. I also like Bobby Flay but I think they've taken his show off the air. I do not like Christine Cushing, and am horrified they've put her crappy re-run show from 5 million years ago back on the air. Shame on you Food tv Canada.

Kristin said...

I finally got a chance to make these- very good. Mine didn't look as pretty, but still tasted good!
http://sogkonniteliving.blogspot.com/