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?