How can anyone not enjoy the sight and sound of carrots and sweet chili chicken thighs bubbling away in a mix of brown sugar, butter, and Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling?

If only you were here to smell and witness this fantastic concoction!

This was an epically fun dish to try and make, since it taught me so much about how to make caramel…

I set out with a vision to make brown sugar glazed carrots and it was a glorious vision. Who doesn’t love brown sugar and carrots? Nobody that I can name – and I sure hope my twins never say so.

To get started I broke out my awesome West Elm Dutch Oven (thanks to my mother in law – long story about the delivery for another post) and dropped in a bunch of farmer’s carrots and some butter and white wine. I let it all simmer on a low to medium heat on the stove top, but then I got impatient.

And – Impatience is a bad thing in the kitchen…

I cranked up the heat and in went more butter, wine, and sugar. And, up went the heat. Then in went the leftover sweet chili chicken. It all sounded and smelled so good that I stepped away to fold some laundry or sort some mail or something my tired brain doesn’t remember.

But, then I smelled a sad smell – the smell of singe-ing caramel. I got lost in my task and it started to turn in to a thick caramel coating everything. While a five year old would love a dinnerl like this – I wasn’t so sure I wanted caramel coated carrots and chicken for dinner. That sounds more like a dish from a Chopped dessert round mystery basket…

I quickly cooled it down, served it up and we ate before it hardened in to solid caramel. And – truth be told it wasn’t that bad… I’d almost call it good if it had a bit more heat to offset the sweet.

Lesson learned – watch sticky caramel type sauces like a hawk and don’t rush them. But, do rush the clean up so it doesn’t stick to your stove top, counter, plates, and dutch oven.

Up next – pulled pork in the slow cooker and a West Elm Dutch Oven review…