Carrottes Etuvees Au Beurre

Doesn't that sound fancy?! Much better than "carrots braised in butter". Which actually even sounds better than my usual "boil some already-peeled baby carrots in hot water and maybe add a little butter".

Right before Christmas I watched Julie and Julia and thought it was such a fun movie. If you follow my blog, you know we were in Paris this past summer and I love French food (for the most part), dining out, and even post the occasional recipe. I'm not a very good cook but I'm trying. So anyway, my parents thought it would be fun to get me the two volume set of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking along with a beautiful Le Creuset French oven - in Flame to match my tea kettle.

The first recipe I've made from the books is the fancy-pants carrots named above. They were so easy but so special because I just felt like I gave it a little more thought & effort than I usually would give a vegetable side dish - and served them up in the lovely LeC. I made them for the second time last night because my 4 yr old son requested them again. (That makes a mom feel good!)

If you want to try them out, here's what you do (adapted from p.477 of Julia's Vol. 1 book):

1. peel and cut up about 1 1/2 lbs of carrots

2. boil them in 1 1/2 cups of water, along with 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter, 1 Tbsp granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper for about 30 min or until the carrots are tender - top with a little chopped parsley if you want, and serve

not part of the recipe, just taking a little break

You want to cook the carrots until the liquid has just evaporated and the carrots are beginning to saute in the butter. In these pics there is a little bit too much liquid still. This was the first time I made them. Last night, I got it all cooked out and they were perfection! I served them alongside a turkey & roasted red pepper meatloaf which I've made several times - another recipe post coming soon!

xoxo