Glazed Carrots with Honey and Thyme

Carrots have graced American tables since the earliest colonial settlements, though we've too often boiled them into submission and called it cooking. This is a corrective. Roasting transforms the humble carrot into something worth fighting over at the Thanksgiving table.

The technique here is simple but requires your attention. High heat first to coax out the natural sugars lurking in every carrot. Then a glaze of butter and honey applied at precisely the right moment, when the carrots have softened but not surrendered. Fresh thyme adds an earthy counterpoint to all that sweetness. The result is a side dish that holds its own against the turkey.

I've served these carrots at gatherings ranging from six to sixty. They scale beautifully, they hold well, and they disappear faster than the mashed potatoes. That's the mark of a side dish doing its job. The colors alone, those sunset oranges deepened by caramelization, brighten a November table that too often drowns in beige.

Make these once and you'll never go back to steamed carrots from a bag. Your guests will ask for the recipe. Give it freely. Good food is a right, not a privilege.