I Heart Carrots

At this time of year when I go to a grocery store I have a hard time resisting the beautiful, colorful bunches of heirloom carrots. They elevate any table's status and can turn a healthy weekday dinner into a fancy meal. I tried a new recipe this week from the February 2014 Food & Wine and it is definitely going into my regular rotation. The combination of flavors is perfection and went splendidly well with the cornmeal crusted tilapia we had planned. We also *just happened* to have a SIMI Sauvignon Blanc chilled in the fridge that rounded out our dinner nicely. We love this wine because its so easy to pair with food: super crisp and light due to 100% stainless steel fermentation but it also has depth from the small amounts of Viognier and Semillon in the blend.

Maple-Glazed Carrots
1 1/2 pounds trimmed baby carrots, preferably heirloom

2 cups chicken stock

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 anchovy fillet, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons chopped dill

© Con Poulos from Food & Wine

In a deep skillet, combine the carrots and chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over moderate heat until the stock is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is sticky and the carrots are tender and well-coated, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the anchovy until dissolved. Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the butter one cube at a time. Stir in the dill and season with salt.