Maple-Glazed Carrots
I've made many a Thanksgiving side dish
in my day. Over eight years and counting of Urban Home Blog, I've
doled out the recipes: savory wild rice with currants and ramps,
green beans cooked as slow as a Southern drawl, soulful sides of
greens and tomatoes and okra, quintessential cranberry sauce. Side dishes at Thanksgiving are part of the patchwork of this holiday,
fittingly a mix and match of celebratory and comfort foods that
represent something to each contributor and partaker. While some side
dishes are standard, such as the stuffing that accompanies the turkey, it can said that the traditions of the American side
board include the melting pot built upon First America. Thus there
are Thanksgivings where caviar is spooned onto mother-of-pearl,
barbecue served right from the grill, lasagne dished up alongside the
turkey, a fruit compote proudly displayed.
At Mama Diva's Thanksgiving table, the
menu was as eclectic as all of them are, in reflection of the
attendees. But Mama Diva was a Yankee and a city girl, and those
cultures underpinned the Harlem soulfulness with which she served.
Thus alongside her deeply flavorful turkey and legendary greens,
there were Waldorf Salad, creamed onions, and macaroni and cheese. We
passed salumi along with cocktails and Champagne while waiting for
her to send word to hit the buffet. For the dessert board, along with
pumpkin and apple pie, there was sweet potato pie and banana pudding.
At her request, I always brought a cake. My grandma's spice- and
coconut layer cakes were popular, but Mama Diva's favorite was my
simple chocolate cake.
Therapeutically as much as for any
other reason, I have been working through my feelings and memories of
those marvelous, now long-departed times. So much has changed, not
all for the better, and some of it downright hurtful. But we're still
here, mostly intact, mostly well. As I go into Thanksgiving, 2017, I
ask myself, as I find myself doing so often, what would Mama Diva do?
How would she handle this? She was the kind that fed melancholia,
often with a smart joke and a stiff drink. She allowed for being
down, but not too far or too long. She would have cautioned me to
remember, above and beyond all else, that Thanksgiving is about gratitude. She would have reminded me some of the amazing, occasionally horrific, tales of her own life, and then pointed to the leftovers
and the sink full of dishes. She would have asked me what I had to be
grateful for, and what I was going to do with that gratitude.
I can't wash her dishes – that was
Ben and Ali's job anyway, which they rocked. But I can keep her
legacy alive through cooking and generosity. Greens were her most requested recipe; click here to learn how to make them Mama Diva's
way, which will turn out to be the only way once you've tried them.
But here is a close second, a dish fit for every side board, not just
Thanksgiving but Sunday Supper: richly flavorful carrots, slow-cooked
in a decadent bath of maple syrup and spices until they become soft
and dark. Mama Diva wants us all to eat this well, and to remember
not just the gratitude for having but the sweetness of caring and sharing.
Maple-Glazed Carrots
Choose large, firm carrots for this
dish; the kind you would put alongside a roast. Five-spice powder,
sometimes labeled Chinese Five Spices, is available in most spice
aisles.
2 – 2-1/2 pounds carrots
¼ cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup Grade A amber maple syrup
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
Salt
- Peel the carrots and cut away the tough top and bottom ends.
- Working one at a time, cut each carrot at an angle about 1 inch down from the top. Move the knife down an inch, turn the carrot ¼ turn, and cut the carrot at the same angle. Repeat until all of the carrots are cut in 1-inch turn-cuts.
- Place the cut carrots into a colander. Lightly sprinkle the carrots with salt and then shake the colander to distribute the salt over the carrots.
- Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Once the butter is melted, carefully whisk the brown sugar into the hot butter until the mixture is smooth.
- Measure the balsamic vinegar, five spice powder, and a pinch of salt into the brown sugar mixture. Whisk to combine.
- Shake the colander to express any moisture that has collected. Safely transfer the carrots to the pan containing the brown sugar mixture.
- Use a silicon spatula or wooden spoon to turn the carrots in the pan until the carrots are well coated with the sugar mixture.
- Measure the maple syrup into the pan. Use the spatula or spoon to turn the carrots in the sugar-syrup mixture.
- Cover the pan with its lid. Turn the burner to low and cook the carrots, checking the pan and turning the carrots to prevent scorching, until the carrots are soft and the glaze is thick and fragrant, 1 to 1-1/4 hours.
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