A few HOLIDAY side dishes

[JennLynn]

Candied Carrots
1 bunch young carrots, with tops
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 orange, halved
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ***in

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut off all but 1-inch of the carrot tops, leaving a little green. Put the carrots in a large shallow pan, add the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Turn to coat the carrots. Stick them in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the carrots are fork-tender.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan around and cook until the butter begins to become brown and nutty. Squeeze in the juice from the orange halves, add the brown sugar and ***in, and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until syrupy.

Remove the carrots from the oven and arrange them on a platter. Drizzle the orange brown butter over the carrots and serve.


Olives with Orange and Rosemary





3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed
1 large sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves
1/2 orange zest, peeled in long strips with a swivel peeler
Pinch red pepper flakes
12 ounces mixed olives, like kalamata, nicoise, or cerignola, drained

Put the olive oil, garlic, coriander seed, herbs, orange zest, and pepper flakes in a medium skillet. Heat over medium-high heat swirling the pan until the mixture is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the olives and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden and the zest begins to curl, about 2 minutes more. Serve warm or at room temperature.