Episode 1: London Broil with Southern Comfort & Honey Glazed Carrots

Well, here we are...my brand new blog.  Not any old blog, either...it's actually a spin-off from my imaginary cooking show that airs via my Facebook status.  And that alone should tell you this should be one helluva fun ride. LOL  

Just so we're clear, the point isn't to cook my way through any cookbook in a year.  I love Julia, admire Julia, respect Julia and will no doubt quote Julia, but as great as that idea was - certainly one I wish I'd thought of first - and as fabulous as the movie was, it's been done.  Obviously.    Besides, I'm waaaaay too fussy to cook my way, cover to cover, through any cookbook....except perhaps a Godiva cookbook ;)  The blog is simply a place to share my culinary adventures.  A place to chronicle kitchen experiments, recipe evolutions, helpful tips and some random thoughts.  Hopefully it will be a place of inspiration, too.  Of course, I welcome a creative exchange of ideas.  And while I"m working towards adding more veggies and some healthier habits into my diet, if you're looking for "diet" food...you need to look elsewhere.

There is a Christmas tree just waiting to be decorated so nothing fancy tonight.  Tasty Tidbit: London Broil, though most Americans use the name to refer to a cut of beef, is actually the name of the finished dish: broiled (or grilled) marinated top round or flank steak, cut across the grain into thin strips.  Based on what I've read, they've never even heard of "London Broil" in London, England.  Go figure.   Anyway, I let a piece of beef marinate in a mixture of 1 tablespoon grill seasoning, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce & 1/4 cup olive oil for the afternoon.  The grill seasoning is the tail end of a jar of store bought stuff.  Yummy, for sure, but it's salty.  And if *I* find it salty, trust me, it's salty.  I'll be making my own as soon as my order from Penzeys Spices arrives.  (You'll find Penzeys in the links section.  Check 'em out.)

I have never liked cooked carrots.  Ever.  At least not til these came along.  I found a recipe and like most recipes that I find, I changed it to suit me...fussy eater, remember??  Then I tweaked it a bit here and there.  After a few tweaks, here's what we wind up with:

Southern Comfort & Honey Glazed Carrots

• 1 pound baby carrots (cut the bigger ones in half)
• 2/3 cup water or ginger ale
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons honey *
• 3 tablespoons Southern Comfort (the alcohol cooks off, so it's cool for the kids)
• 1 teaspoon dehydrated onion (or a couple of tablespoons of fresh, finely chopped onion or shallot)
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes **
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or more to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper **
• 4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled (optional)

Put all the ingredients (except bacon, if you're using it) into a 10-inch fry pan or sauté pan.  Cook on medium to medium high heat until the water evaporates and the carrots are tender but not mushy...about 15 or 20 minutes.  Add the crumbled bacon the last minute or two so it can warm up and get coated with the fabulous glaze left in your pan.  Serves 2 to 4.

A couple of notes on this recipe:

* if you use local honey, you'll build up an immunity to your local pollen which will make for a more pleasant allergy season.

** if it's too much heat for you, use less of the cayenne & red pepper flakes but honestly, between the carrots, SoCo & honey (and ginger ale if you're using that) there is plenty of sweetness to get away with the extra heat if you aren't feeding kids or super sensitive stomachs.

No, I didn't take pictures....they're carrots.