Roasted Veggies (glazed with vanilla butter)
Our favorite way to do carrots and practically any other root veggie is to roast them.
Cut the carrots either in half or quarters lenghtwise, spread on a pan, put them in a 350 oven until tender. This depends on the carrots and can take anywhere from a half-hour to an hour. Stir them on the pan (toss them really) at least once during the roasting. It's difficult, but not impossible, to overcook them. This really concentrates the sugars and gives them an almost smoky sweetness.
We like to glaze them with vanilla butter. Scrape a couple of vanilla beans into melted butter and pour the mix over the carrots during the last 15 minutes of cooking. You can add a dash of rum if you'd like. Good vanilla extract will work but the beans are better.
This is good on parsnips, sweet potatoes, hard squash, turnips, and onions. You can do them ahead and warm them up too. I've never met anyone who didn't like them.
Catspaw, who also likes corn pudding