Satsumas with Rosemary Honey

When I was a kid, I remember hearing stories about children receiving an orange as a Christmas gift. Now that always seemed to me like a terrible present, wanting as I did, a pair of walkie talkies. I always figured it was the way my parents had of lowering my expectations for Christmas gifts. But this year I tried mandarin oranges - specifically satsuma oranges. I love them - I mean really love them. They are so sweet and juicy. They are available in November through January. I get the organic ones at Whole Foods and I can't stop eating them. The old Christmas stories about oranges in stockings make much more sense to me now.

But I never did get my walkie talkies. Here's another delightful way to enjoy them.

Mandarins with rosemary honey - from the LA Times
Total time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6

1/2 cup wildflower honey
1 1/4 teaspoons minced rosemary leaves
1 1/2 pounds mandarins (about 9)
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

• Heat the honey and the rosemary in a small saucepan until liquid and set aside to steep at least 15 minutes.
• Peel the mandarins and break them into bite-sized sections of roughly 2 segments each. Carefully remove as much of the white pith and string as you can. Notice that there is a central string that runs down the back of almost every segment; remove this and much of the pith will come with it.
• Arrange the mandarins in a low mound on a serving platter and spoon the rosemary honey over top. Each piece of mandarin should be touched, though not coated, by the honey. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary, or even better, sprigs with some of the blue flowers still attached.