I don’t like cooked carrots. Never have. Yet I cook with carrots all the time when I make the likes of soup, stew, or pot roast and thoroughly enjoy the experience. I just don’t like cooked carrots when they are simply steamed and served on the naked side. (You know, with just a thin covering of butter, salt, and pepper.)

But yesterday, I needed a simple veggie dish that had some color. And if for no other reason than the color itself, carrots are a Godsend when it comes to presentation. Of course, the fact that they also happen to be good for us and dirt (organic dirt of course) cheap doesn’t hurt!

What I wasn’t prepared for yesterday when I tasted one of these babies was my own culinary reaction. I liked them! What? How could this be? Well first of all, they were oven roasted. And what veggie doesn’t profit from being slathered in olive oil and baked in an oven at a high temperature? The outside caramelizes and the inside becomes tender and sweet. Then to take the lowly roasted Daucus carota and introduce it to a glaze made with butter, honey, and bourbon – well simple words do not do justice to the end result.

All I can say is, if you are already a carrot lover, good for you and enjoy the recipe. If however, cooked carrots have never rocked your universe, do yourself a favor and give this recipe a try. Roasted carrots will never replace Mocha Chocolate Cake (my next recipe to be posted) as the sweetest treat around, but I can promise you that these carrots have about as much in common with a steamed carrot as Spam has with Black Forrest ham!

• 2 lbs. baby carrots (cut larger pieces in half lengthwise) or 2 lbs. peeled carrots cut about ½ inch thick on the diagonal
• 2-3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 2 T. bourbon
• 2 T. honey
• 1 T. water
• 1 T. minced fresh parsley, garnish, opt.

Place carrots in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well to coat. Place in a single layer on a foil lined baking pan and bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are crisp tender. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and stir in the bourbon, honey, and water. Return to heat, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes or until mixture is syrupy. After carrots have baked for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, and pour the honey syrup over all. Toss gently to coat. Return to oven and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove from oven, taste one, and add a sprinkle of kosher salt (if necessary) and the minced parsley for pretty. Serve hot or at room temperature.