Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey Glazed Carrots

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

I must admit – I have really been underachieving with this blog lately. Lots of factors are to blame, though. It hasn’t been lack of interest or effort on my part. It has been a combination of my trying various recipes that fail & are unworthy of posting, my need to eat some Goddamn leftovers whenever I make something instead of tossing them so I have an excuse to make something new and then a week & a half over Thanksgiving with my boyfriend – whose palate is Southern & conservative & accustomed to a great deal of meat. Mine is quite the opposite – northeastern, adventurous & lacto-ovo-pescatarian. Hence – little cooking happened over the holiday that warranted posting – and most of what did (lots of Thanksgiving new additions to my menu) remained undocumented due to the sheer volume of things I cooked. I made:

Brie & homemade cranberry sauce mini tartelettes, roasted turkey, celery root stuffing, vegan gravy, turkey gravy, cream cheese mashed potatoes, corn pudding, glazed carrots, cauliflower gratin torte with homemade crust, peas with roasted onion & mint, pumpkin mac & cheese, slow-cooked BBQ baked beans, homemade cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie cupcakes with homemade crust and a full-sized pumpkin pie with a homemade crust. There just wasn’t time in my days (three of them spent cooking) to properly track my ingredients & quantities & to photograph everything.

Do not think I wasn’t self-flagellating as I slaved for three days over food as my blog remained stagnant & forgotten – and as I neglected to take advantage of what could have been a month worth of posts. I comforted myself that food cooked so close to – and on – Thanksgiving day was likely to be no aid to those of you out there who might be looking for Thanksgiving recipes. I will attempt to make up for it by posted a few in the near future that I think might serve you well over the December holiday season.

The first one I will share with you is the recipe for the VERY EASY glazed carrots. I used Jack Daniels Honey whiskey – but any whiskey would likely do. There are very simple & appropriate for kids, too, as the alcohol burns off in the cooking. They can be made hours in advance & reheated just prior to serving.

Stock photo

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Jack Daniels Whiskey & Honey Glazed Carrots

(This recipe should serve 10-15 very generously – and up to 20 if there are lots of other sides on your table.)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey

4 lbs carrots, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 1/2 sticks of butter (half a pound or MORE)

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

Chopped parsley or chives as garnish (optional but pretty)

DIRECTIONS

Melt 3 TBS butter in a large saute pan over high heat. If you do not have a large saute pan – do this recipe in two batches. You want the carrots to come into contact with both the butter & the heat of the pan – and you do not want your butter to burn. Add carrots & stir – sauteing them for 2-3 min. Remove the carrots to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add the whiskey & let it saute for 30-45 seconds. Reduce heat & melt the remaining butter. Add the brown sugar & stir to combine. Once a glaze begins to form – a minute or two – add the carrots back to the pan & stir to get all the carrots coated in glaze. Cover the pan & saute over medium or medium-low heat for maybe 5-10 minutes – until carrots are cooked to your preference. Add S&P.

If serving immediately – pour the carrots & glaze onto a platter & top with the parsley or chives (if using) and serve. Or – set them away off heat & reheat when ready to serve.

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