These maple roasted carrots are a sweet, gorgeous, and festive side dish you’ll be able to whip up in a flash! Top them with an addictive maple-tahini glaze and you’ll be the talk of the holiday potluck.

One could say that, as a holiday partygoer, I tend to get a little bit… extra. I like to pull out all the stops, so I usually bring 2-3 things, plus a dessert that literally no one asked for. It’s just what I do. But this year, Christmas is going to be a bit different than usual.

My aunt has been in fairly poor health for a while, and about a year and a half ago, she was in a minor car accident that proved much more serious than we anticipated. Because her health was already suffering, the accident cracked her sternum and sent her CO2 levels skyrocketing. She spent a year in the hospital, which is where my family spent Christmas last year.

This year, she’s finally home, but she has limited mobility and needs a nurse present to care for her. She gets tired easily and tends to feel better earlier in the day, but her personality, rambunctious and sparkling, still shines through. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without her. So we’re packing up a ham and some sides and heading over the river and through the woods to her house for an early, low-key Christmas dinner.

This is the woman who instilled in me my love for cooking.

I never really thought of myself as someone who loved cooking until very recently, but I think she saw something in me long before everyone else did. Some of my earliest, fondest memories are of being hoisted onto a barstool next to her, carefully chopping cucumbers with a small knife held in a wobbly fist. And at almost every holiday, we’d make the salad dressing together. A simple vinaigrette with some dried herbs and two packets of Equal. Shake it up, open the jar, and run your finger along the inside of the lid. Taste it. A little more Equal. Taste it again. Just right.

When I was older, she quietly bought me a subscription for Bon Appétit magazine. She still renews it. Usually, for Christmas, I’ll unwrap a cookbook from her and my uncle. And, no matter what happens, we’ll always have a special bond rooted in our love for Ina Garten.

These memories are simple, but they’re the most treasured ones I have.

So when I learned that this Christmas would be a little… well, unorthodox, I didn’t mind. Because that’s what it’s all about. You do everything you can to spend time with the people you love, no matter the odds. No matter if it’s in a hospital or a little house far from home, you do it because you love them.

I’m not going to be able to pull out all the stops this year, and that’s okay. After all life has thrown at us in the past few years, my family could use a brief reprieve from the stress of the holiday season. Quick and simple is the name of the game, so that’s what you’ll find in this simple side dish.

These Maple-Roasted Carrots with Maple-Tahini Glaze are so beautiful and show-stopping, you won’t believe how quick and easy they are to throw together for even the most non-traditional of holidays. They’re truly the epitome of an elevated classic. Take the gold standard, honey roasted carrots, and drizzle them with pure maple syrup instead. Make them rainbow carrots while you’re at it. Top them with a simple yet elegant sauce and a sprinkle of pomegranate arils.

They’ll make any holiday, no matter how big or small, classic or unconventional, feel even more beautiful. And no one will even know they took no time at all, so you can get back to spending as much time as possible with the people you care about. Please give your loved ones an extra-tight squeeze this year and enjoy to the fullest whatever the day brings you!