By April and the world is green again. Dogwoods blooming, azaleas rioting, grass growing. I'm mowing again, which my back does not love but I do, because mowing says this is my yard, my house, my life, and I maintain it.
Made a big Sunday dinner. Pot roast with potatoes and carrots, biscuits, a salad Connie insisted on since the diagnosis. Travis, Jolene, Earl Thomas came. Amber drove up from Louisville. Clay came. Six adults and one toddler who ate mashed potatoes with his hands because utensils are suggestions at thirteen months.
The wedding is next month. Amber is in full planning mode. The suit has been bought — Connie took me to a store with a salesman who spoke about fabrics in a language I don't understand. I tried it on and saw a man who cleans up better than expected, which is not a high bar.
I'm going to walk my daughter down the aisle in a month. I'm going to give her away, which is a phrase I hate because you don't give away your daughter — you share her, you open the door and let her walk through to the man she chose. The only thing that's mine is the aisle and the arm and the tears I will not try to stop because some tears are not weakness, some tears are the weight of twenty-eight years of love expressed the only way a man like me knows how — through the eyes because the mouth can't hold it.
Carrots were already part of that dinner — tucked in around the roast, doing what carrots do, going soft and sweet and invisible the way the best things sometimes do. But with a wedding a month out and six people around the table and a toddler using mashed potatoes as finger paint, that meal felt like it deserved something a little more dressed up. These Glazed Marsala Carrots are what I’d make again for a Sunday like that — simple enough that I’m not still in the kitchen when everyone’s hungry, but good enough that they match the weight of the occasion.
Glazed Marsala Carrots With Hazelnuts
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch diagonal coins
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Toast the hazelnuts. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast hazelnuts for 3—4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool slightly, and roughly chop. Set aside.
- Start the carrots. In a large skillet or wide sauté pan, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots in a single layer (work in batches if needed) and cook undisturbed for 3—4 minutes until they begin to brown on the bottom.
- Add the Marsala. Stir the carrots, then pour in the Marsala wine. It will bubble up quickly — let it. Add the honey, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat.
- Glaze and simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 12—15 minutes until the carrots are just tender and the liquid has reduced to a glossy glaze coating the carrots. If the glaze thickens too quickly before the carrots are tender, add 2—3 tablespoons of water and continue cooking.
- Finish and serve. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Transfer to a serving dish, scatter the toasted hazelnuts over the top, and garnish with parsley if using. Serve warm.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 230mg