Mustard-Glazed Carrots

Now that things are starting to calm down for me at work, I have really been enjoying my time in the kitchen.  I forgot how wonderful it is to try new recipes and de-stress as I get lost in the world of cooking.  I have loads of great recipes clipped from food magazines and I've been enjoying trying them out as I unwind in the kitchen. 

This past week, I decided to try an adapted version of Everyday Food's Mustard-Glazed Shallots and Carrots from the December 2010 issue.  I didn't have any shallots but I had purchased plenty of carrots for my Cottage Pie, so I adapted the recipe to make Mustard-Glazed Carrots.

First, I gathered my ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used complimentary samples of California Olive Ranch EVOO)
• 3 tablespoons horseradish mustard (original recipe calls for any grainy mustard)
• 3 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 pound medium carrots, cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces (I cut my carrots on a bias)
• Coarse salt and fresh-cracked pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons salted butter (original recipe calls for unsalted butter)

I preheated the oven to 450 degrees with an oven rack in the middle.  While the oven was warming up, I whisked together the olive oil, horseradish mustard, light-brown sugar and vinegar in a large bowl.

I tossed the carrots with the mustard mixture in the bowl.

I lined a small roasting pan with aluminum foil and gave it a quick spray of baking spray.  I arranged the carrots in a single layer in the roasting pan and seasoned the carrots with salt and pepper.

I let the carrots roast for about forty minutes, but stirred the carrots through about halfway through.  When the carrots were brown and tender, I placed them in a bowl, stirred in the butter, and served the carrots warm.

These carrots were a great side dish to some simple baked boneless chicken thighs that had been marinated with my homemade pesto and a finely diced habanero pepper.

I love roasting vegetables in the fall.  It is such an easy way to cook root vegetables while bringing out all of their great natural flavors.  Tell me, what are some of your favorite ways to cook carrots or other root vegetables?