Although we’re hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house, my mom still does the lion’s share of the cooking, handling the main dishes while I take responsibility for some of the sides and appetizers. I was leafing through cookbooks yesterday morning to find a vegetable dish that would go well with tonight’s meal of grilled steak and potatoes. I wanted something that complimented the flavors as well as the colors. How things look on a plate is a very close second in importance, in my opinion, to how things taste. I landed on these roasted carrots (recipe link here), because of the reasons already mentioned, and because my dad has a serious love of carrots. Truly – I’ve never known someone to comment on a vegetable as much at that guy does about carrots. These have a bit more of a kick than I was expecting (likely because I used smoked hot paprika), but they weren’t overwhelming. With the limited number of ingredients and minimal prep, this is a quick dish to add if you’re looking to round out a holiday meal over the next few days.

Reality Check. I was jazzed to think that I’d have lots of options for this post, with the unusual amount of cooking going on in the house over the course of a couple of days. But after a fairly painstaking trip to the grocery store (crowds as well as length of time) I came home to realize that I had forgotten at least one item from every recipe. Except for the carrots. So carrots it is. But they are quite tasty, I promise.