Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Recipe: Deep-Fried Garlic Cloves and Green Olives

Cathy found this recipe on the NY Times online:

About 36 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup pitted green olives, like Manzanilla or Picholine
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt, more for sprinkling
½ teaspoon pepper
3 eggs
1 cup fresh bread crumbs or panko
Oil for deep-frying.
1. Put garlic cloves in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Drain and repeat with fresh water. Drain and repeat once more, simmering about 5 minutes or until soft, testing often. Gently lift garlic cloves out of pan and drain on paper towels until cool. Meanwhile, place olives on paper towels to drain.
2. When ready to cook, mix flour, salt and pepper on a plate. In a bowl, beat eggs. Spread bread crumbs on another plate. In a heavy pot, heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees: when hot enough, a chunk of bread will fry in 30 seconds.
3. Working in batches, roll garlic cloves and olives in seasoned flour, then in beaten eggs, then in bread crumbs. Repeat process and drop into oil. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let oil come back to 375 degrees between batches. Serve immediately.
Yield: Snacks for 6 to 8 people.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Patychky for Christmas

Mr. Anchovy posted the recipe for patychky. He says it has "unlimited amounts of garlic"... Delicious!

I've posted mother anchovy's recipe for patychky once before, but seeing as I'm making a large batch for Christmas this week, I'm going to post it again for those who are interested. Patychky are also known as 'meat sticks'. They can be made with pork or a combination of pork and beef and veal, or even with chicken, but I usually use pork, and I'm going to show you my way.

Start with an inexpensive pork roast.
Cut it up into cubes that are a little bigger than 1 cubic inch. Some people use smaller chunks but I find the bigger ones are juicier and just perfect.
Chop up an insane amount of garlic - 30 or 40 big cloves is not too much.
Toss the garlic in with the meat.
At this point you have to add some booze. There are a couple schools of thought on this - some folks use sherry - others use beer. I have done both and I believe that nobody will be able to tell you which you used - so I use beer. So, beer and garlic is your basic marinade. Toss it all together, cover and put the whole business in the fridge overnight. In a pinch you can marinate for a couple hours and it will be OK, but I believe the overnight marinade makes them extra yummy.
Break some eggs in a bowl and lightly beat them for a few seconds. In another bowl, toss in some bread crumbs with salt and pepper.
I should have mentioned earlier that you need the right sticks. They have to be sturdy wooden sticks, about 6 inches long. I get mine at Czehowski's at Queensway and Islington in Toronto - just ask for sticks for patychky and they'll know what you want.
Take the meat from the fridge and start skewering the meat cubes on the sticks such that you basically cover the wood. Once you have them all done, dip them in egg and roll them in the breadcrumb mixture.
Meanwhile, add a generous portion of oil to a good skillet and heat it on medium-high. For this, don't use olive oil. It has to be an oil that can handle more heat, like canola or corn oil.
Brown the patychky thoroughly, 4 or 5 at a time.
Meanwhile, take a roaster and line the bottom with sticks of celery. These are to keep the patychky off the bottom of the pan. Preheat your oven to about 350 f.
As you take the patychky out of the skillet, lay them on the celery in the roaster. It's OK to have two or three layers of meat sticks - don't worry about them touching one another.
Bake the whole business for 45 minutes to an hour. After 45 minutes, take one out and eat it. Then put them back in for a few minutes, before testing a second one. This is chef's privilage.
I have never met anyone who likes meat who does not go crazy for these things. My mom used to make them for every big holiday occasion - and later I found out that Tuffy's mom did too - basically the same approach. I learned about using the celery from Tuffy's mom - it's an excellent innovation.
Patychky are great right out of the oven, cold for breakfast, re-heated in a toaster over, or even zapped up next day in a microwave, if you must use one.

If any of you make these, please report back and let me know how you liked them.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Tuffy's roast potatoes

Mister Anchovy writes:

There are three keys to this recipe - plenty of whole garlic cloves, really excellent olive oil, and smoked Spanish paprika. Tuffy made some tonight and they were fantastic.


Here's the recipe:

Cut up a bunch of potatoes slightly bigger than French Fry size - Yukon Gold work really nicely for this. Cut up an onion, and a several whole cloves of garlic. Put it all in a big bowl. Add about a teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika, salt, pepper, and a little savory. You can use any spice mix you like, but the smoked paprika is at the heart of this. Add enough obsenely good olive oil so that when you toss the mixture together, the potatoes are lightly coated with the olive oil. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture across the pan. Roast at about 350 until the potatoes are cooked. Then turn the oven to broil and blast the potato mixture for two or three minutes. Put the cooked potatoes into a bowl - add some kosher salt and toss it. These taste great with almost anything. Why not try it with Great White Bear's brisket recipe!.

Thursday, December 8, 2005

Garlic mustard

Julia has a great post about mustard at the St. Lawrence Market. The guy even has garlic mustard. I personally haven't tried it but I've tried a couple of others that he sells. They're really good.
Go visit her blog for the link.

Sunday, December 4, 2005

Garlic squid

Recipe sent by Fearless:

1 lb. squid, cleaned & cut into 1 inch rounds
2 tbl. minced onion
2 tbl. oil
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbl. lime juice

Pat dry squid.
Heat oil in pan, add garlic and onion until soft over medium.
Heat, turn to high, add squid until it starts to lose its translucence. Add salt and pepper and cook squiduntil done.
Remove from heat, sprinkle lime juice and serve over rice.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Garlic shrimp

The CookingDiva posted the recipe for Garlic shrimp:
Ingredients:

* 2 pounds large shrimp, cleaned, shelled
* 15 cloves garlic, peeled (add more if you want)
* 1/2 cup green bell pepper, stems and seeds removed, and chopped
* 1 cup onion, chopped
* 3 1/2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro or parsley, minced
* 1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
* 8 Tablespoons hot melted butter or olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the garlic in a small sauce pot with enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, and then lower to a simmer until the garlic cloves are soft (about 20 minutes). Drain the water and refresh the garlic cloves with cold water. Allow to cool. Mince the cooked garlic.
2. Melt butter in a sautee pan, add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, then blend in the chopped bell pepper and cook for one more minute. Add the shrimp, lime juice, cilantro (or parsley), chopped cooked garlic, and cook until the shrimp is done (about 3-5 minutes) or until pink. PLEASE, Do not over cook! Rubbery shrimp is a gastronomical aberration! :(
3. Transfer the shrimp to a platter and drizzle the garlic butter over it.

Serve with steamed white rice and lime wedges.

Yield: 5-6 servings

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Garlic-lemon salmon

I really enjoy salmon, it's easy and fast to cook and it's healthy.

Garlic lemon salmon
(good for 2 people)

1 pound of salmon fillet
3 cloves chopped garlic (in slivers, if possible)
1 lemon, sliced
lemon pepper seasoning
garlic salt

Place salmon in aluminium foil, cover with garlic slivers and slices of lemon. Season with a tiny bit of lemmon pepper and garlic salt. Wrap it in the foil.
Bake for 20 minutes at 450 F.
Enjoy!
I like accompanying salmon with plain white rice (or Uncle Ben's garlic rice, it turns out good!). Also with some greens like greenbeans or steamed broccoli.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Lemon Dressing

Recipe sent by JadeMarie:

This is mainly a salad dressing, but you can use it as a marinade too.

LEMON DRESSING

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 clove garlic, smashed**
Salt, pepper

Combine all ingredients in a lidded jar and shake well. Let stand at least 15 to 20 minutes to combine flavors. Store leftover dressing in refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.

By Jane Snow
www.ohio.com

**JadeMarie's note--1 clove of garlic is a modest amount. I prefer 3 or 4 cloves, if they are small. It really depends on the size of the garlic clove. I love this dressing! The flavour reminds me of the taste of garlic-stuffed olives.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Some Indian recipes that include garlic

Recipe sent by Sub-Rosa:

Gujerati Green Beans

Here’s what you need:
1 pound fresh green beans

1 good sized shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. whole black mustard seeds
1 tsp. ground cumin seeds, toasted
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ - 1 diced jalapeño pepper
salt
black pepper

Here’s what you do:

1. Lay a row of beans. Trim the ends. Do them all that way.

2. Blanch the beans by dropping them into a pot of boiling water and boiling rapidly for 3 to 4 minutes or until they are just tender. Drain immediately in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a large fry pan over a medium heat. Sautee the shallots - when hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop (watch out, those mustard seeds really do jump out), put in the garlic and the jalapeño. Stir the garlic pieces around until they turn light brown. Work fast - you don’t want to burn these ingredients.

4. Put in the green beans, salt and sugar. Stir to mix. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add 2 Tbsp. water. Toss in the ground cumin (and the coconut if you are adding this ingredient) and stir. Cover and cook the beans for 7 to 8 minutes or until they have absorbed the flavor of the spices. Add the black pepper to taste, mix and serve.



Inspired by Madhur Jaffrey (but then, she always inspires us)

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Turkey sausage recipe

Coastalcutie sent her recipe for turkey sausage:

This recipe is for sausage that is easy to make, and has much less fat than regular sausage, and no preservatives! Spices can be adjusted to taste.

1.25 pounds ground turkey
1 small onion, minced
1 Tbls. chopped fresh parsley
3 lg cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fennel seed
2 tsp. McCormic/Schilling turkey rub (sold in jars)
1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix all ingredients together well, and for best results, let refrigerate overnight for the best flavor. Use like breakfast sausage, or in place of Italian sausage in recipes. It also makes great meatballs.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Tomato Marinade

Sent by Fearless:

In season, not a lot of garlic, but none better.

Uses: by itself {healthy} or in addition to most recipes, like hamburgerss needing something new.

3 tomatoes sliced however you like them.

Add marinade:

1/3 c. salad oil
1/8 c. wine vinegar
1/8 c. parsley or cilantro
1/8 c. diced onion
2 garlic cloves, diced or minced
1/2 tsp each of salt, dill weed, and basil
1/8 tsp pepper

refrigerate 2 hours, ENJOY

Monday, November 7, 2005

Garlic Health Benefits

JadeMarie found the link for Garlic for Health:

Garlic health benefits and medicinal properties have long been known. Garlic has long been considered a herbal "wonder drug", with a reputation for preventing everything from the common cold and flu to the Plague! It has been used extensively in herbal medicine (phytotherapy, sometimes spelt phitotherapy). Raw garlic is used by some to treat the symptoms of acne and there is some evidence that it can assist in managing high cholesterol levels. It can even be effective as a natural mosquito repellent...... [LINK]

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Olive roasted head of garlic

The Cooking Diva sent an email to the link for her olive roasted head of garlic. You can find it here (and it has a nice picture on it).
Here is a copy of the recipe and of her post:

Garlic joy..., that is what I feel right now! Oh my garlic..., Oh my delicious roasted garlic... There is nothing better than a fresh roasted head of garlic to have with a still warm loaf of French bread. And I say loaf, because when you start would be very difficult to stop! :)

Now, I am going to present you a list of reasons why this recipe is a MUST for your life:

1. It is so easy to prepare, always a good thing to have in the fridge ready. A delicacy like this is very expensive to purchase already prepared..., just take a look at the gourmet shop near you, or at the supermarket..., and you will see what I mean.
2. The health benefits of the garlic are widely known, including the fact that is considered a mosquito repellent (that in my case would be of great help, because they LOVE me!). It is believed that if you eat a large amount of garlic then it actually seeps out through the pores of your skin. Any intelligent mosquito which finds you will think twice before taking a bite. You can read more on the health benefits of eating garlic HERE.
3. There are so many scrumptious recipes you could prepare with roasted garlic, why do not you try now?

The Ingredients:

4 heads of garlic
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 500 F. Trim the stems of the garlic heads by 1/2-inch.
2. Place the garlic heads, cut side up, in a small baking dish and drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Then add the water to the baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the garlic is golden brown on top.
3. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the garlic cool completely. Then, squeeze carefully the garlic out from the skins.
4. Serve with slices of French bread and garnish garlic with little olive oil and parsley on top.

Enjoy! Melissa

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Butternut Tostada

I found this recipe at The Adventures of Crazy Biker Chick, it doesn't have a lot of garlic, but it sounds delicious.

1 butternut squash (to make 2 cups cooked pulp)
4 tortillas
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp well-rubbed oregano
1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese
4 cups shredded lettuce or alfalfa sprouts (ed: definitely use yummy sprouts!)
salsa (see below)
optional - toasted pumpkin seeds

Cut and quarter the butteernut and steam for 20 min. Meanwhile, toast the tortillas over gas burner or on a griddle under just softly crisp.

Remove the squash pulp form the skins. Heat oil in a heavy pan and sprinkle with chili powder, cumin and garlic. Stir and fry until the spices are fragrant. Add squash and oregano, stirring while mixture heats through.

Place squash on tortillas, sprinkle with shredded cheese, and place under broiler until cheese melts. Remove, cover with lettuce or sprouts, and dot with salsa. A handful of toasted pumpkin seeds makes a delicious final touch.

Salsa
3 ripe, red tomatoes
4 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno or yellow hot chili pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 tsp oregano
Dice tomatoes, chop onions, mince garlic and chili; combine all these with herbs and mix well.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Garlic olive oil

I got an email yesterday, from Gina

Hello! Wondered if you could help me with a recipe.
An olive bar near me recently stopped carrying garlic cloves in oil with red
pepper flakes. They were so delicious and I’m sure there was no vinegar. Can you
help!? Thanks! Gina


Well, this is how I would do it, I learned this trick from my father a long time ago:
Chop garlic cloves really really fine. Put them in a bottle. Also put in th bottle some hot pepper flakes like the ones people usually put on pizza.
Fill the bottle with extra virgin olive oil and close tightly. There's no need to refrigerate, since it's oil. In about 2 weeks, you can use your homemade chili-garlic oil. To avoid the risk of botulism, use it right away or keep it in the fridge for up to one week.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/garlic-ail_e.html

Any other suggestions from Garlicster readers?

Monday, October 17, 2005

Garlic and Clam Cream Sauce Pasta

Recipe taken from Rhosgobel: Radagast's home

My SO and I found this recipe in an issue of Fine Cooking a few years ago, and since then it's been one of our most frequently-made recipes. The sauce is not as thick as your typical cream sauce (e.g., fettuccine alfredo), and is also quite flavorful thanks to the combination of clams, garlic, herbs, and cheese.

This recipe is quick and easy; my SO and I can make this dish in less than 25 minutes. The slowest step is cooking the pasta, and even that can be done in parallel with making the sauce. Since I made this last week after a long day at work, it's this week's end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 6.5oz cans chopped clams (drained, reserve the liquid for the juice below)
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed with a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2/3 cup clam juice (reserved from the cans above)
1/2 to 2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 pound dry pasta (we often use fusili)

0. Cook the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. When cooked, drain the pasta, but do not rinse with water. Work on the sauce (steps 1-6) while the pasta is cooking, though try to schedule your cooking so the pasta is done somewhat before it needs to be added to the sauce (in step 8).
1. In a large frying pan melt the butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add the clams and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add the garlic and fry for a minute longer, stirring frequently.
4. Add the oregano and red pepper flakes, stir for a few seconds, and then add the clam juice.
5. Cook until the clam juice is reduced in volume by approximately 50% (a few minutes).
6. Add the cream, and cook (simmering) until the sauce is a good consistency to coat the pasta (a moderately-thick sauce), stirring occasionally. It usually takes 2-4 minutes for the sauce to thicken to the right consistency; check the thickness of the sauce by stirring regularly with a spoon. When ready, the sauce should be a good deal thicker than it was just after you added the cream.
7. Once the sauce is thickened, mix in the parsley and cheese.
8. Add the drained pasta, mix well, and serve with grated cheese.

This recipe makes enough for a hearty dinner for the two of us, with very little left over. The original article says that the pasta doesn't reheat well; I've found that it reheats just fine in the microwave, as long as I mix it frequently as I reheat it, and add a little bit of freshly grated cheese once it's hot.

The flavor of the sauce is much more intense if you use fresh parsley, so don't use dried parsley unless you absolutely have to. Parsley is pretty easy to grow; I have a parsley plant in my backyard that I use primarily to make this dish.

The original article encourages flexibility with the sauce's ingredients, and includes five other recipes for similarly flavorful cream sauces.

Weinstein, B., and M. Scarbrough. 2002. "How to Make a Light Creamy Pasta Sauce." Fine Cooking 50: 45-49.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Diablo Sauce

Mr. Anchovy posted a recipe for diablo sauce that could potentially have lots of garlic. Here it is, or follow this link:
Run all your chiles through a food processor.
Toss the chopped up chiles into a big pot with plenty of cider or wine vinegar.
Optional: add in chopped up onions and garlic (this time, I added about 30 cloves of garlic....last time I didn't add any....up to you)
Let it all simmer away for an hour or so.
Add in some white sugar (I use about 2 cups for a good sized pot full of sauce)
Simmer it for another twenty minutes.
Jar it up using standard canning procedures. I always put the filled and sealed jars back into boiling water for about 15 minutes.
Feel the love.

Friday, September 30, 2005

Spinach Pasta with Shrimp, Garlic, Feta & Tomatoes

Recipe sent by: Christine

Very easy to make. Roast tomatoes with some garlic, kosher salt and olive oil in a very hot oven (425 or so). After ten minutes, add shrimp, chopped parsley, and a little lemon juice. Sprinkle with a cup of feta and cook 10 more minutes. I like to serve it over a dark pasta for contrast.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Baked tomato with garlic au-gratin

All you need is:
Tomatoes (not plum tomatoes, plum tomatoes are evil, you want round tomatoes, preferably Ontario tomatoes)
Garlic salt
Slivers of garlic (as many as you want, depending on how many tomatoes you are making)
Italian seasoning (including oregano)
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Cut the tomatoes in half, pour a bit of olive oil on each one. Season with garlic salt and place the slivers of garlic on each half. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and with parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 F for about 25 or 30 minutes.
It turns out delicious, I made this and really loved it. It's really healthy and garlicky!

Monday, September 19, 2005

Garlic eggplant

Ingredients:
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium eggplant
Olive oil
Salt


Instructions:
Chop eggplant in small cubes, after chopping it, you may want to pour some salt over it and leave it resting for a while. This is a trick I learned in Italy to remove the bitterness that the eggplant may have.
Finely chop garlic cloves.
Heat olive oil and fry chopped garlic cloves until golden, being careful not to burn them. This will make the olive oil get that delicious garlicky flavour.

When oil is ready and garlicky, add chopped eggplant. An eggplant is a bit like a potato and will quickly absorb all the oil Do not worry, the oil will already have the delicious taste of garlic.


Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until eggplant is nicely cooked and a bit mushy. If you don't like it that mushy you can just leave it for a shorter time.


Delicious and really garlicky!

Monday, September 12, 2005

Onion Surprise

I know this blog is all about garlic, but Frank sent this recipe and it seems so super delicious that I'm posting it. (sorry about the lack of posting, my computer at home is still broken, it'll take another TWO WEEKS to be ready)

Onion Surprise

Submitted by: Frank

Ingredients:

1 lg Spanish onion
2 Tbls butter
1 bullion cube flavor of choice
2 cloves of crushed garlic
Dash of salt or Spike
1 Surprise (explained later)

Directions:

Peal onion. Core onion from sprout end about 3/4 deep.
Insert all ingredients. Now, for the Surprise. Take a spice of your choice and add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp to core of onion. My favorite is red pepper flakes or orange zest. Experiment, this is a lot of fun. After all ingredients have been place in onion, replace part of the core (not the sprout), wrap tightly in aluminum foil and bake at 350' for about 35 min. Place in a bowl and remove foil. The aroma and flavor of this
treat should be unforgettable. Serve with french bread or you can even make a fondue of it.

The size of the onion will determine serving size or adjust to smaller size onion for soup entree.

I'd love your feed back on this.

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

The real gazpacho

Gazpacho is not just ANY cold soup! Gazpacho does not have avocado, gazpacho does not have mint in it. Gazpacho is a cold cucumber, tomato and green pepper soup. Gazpacho has lots and lots of garlic!

You can make authentic gazpacho with Ontario grown ingredients:


All you need is:
1 large seedless cucumber
3 medium tomatoes
1 medium green pepper
1/2 red onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 panini bread
Really concentrated Knorr vegetable broth
Oil and vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the cucumber and the garlic cloves, chop all ingredients and put them all in the blender:


Puree the ingredients until consistency is that of a creamy soup.
Serve in a bowl (again, gazpacho is not like a V8 juice, it is eaten like a soup, not drunk like a juice!). Garnish it with tiny chopped pieces of bread, cucumber, tomato and green pepper.

Delicious, and really, really garlicky! Not for the faint of mouth!

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Garlic Expressions

Some months ago, a fellow garlic lover from Ohio asked if anyone had tried the Garlic Expressions salad dressing .
I got this email from Ken Smith:
"Yes, I have tried garlic expressions salad dressing and it is absolutely my favorite. I buy it by the case and give it away to friends. My only complaint is I can't buy it retail anywhere in the Spokane, WA area. I used to be able to get it at our local Safeway and Fred Myers but not any more. The only way for me to buy it is through email order. I use it for everything from salads to fish, chicken and vegetables. I have tried emailing the company to find retail outlets here but no luck. Any ideas?"

I guess what you could do is order by mail and have itshipped to Washington. That's what we do in Canada sometimes with articles from the States that are not available here. Any other ideas?

Monday, August 29, 2005

Caesar salad dressing

Recipe sent by Cathrine Qua

You need a bottle the size of the ones Classico Pasta Sauce is in (700ml)


Crush anywhere from 1 bud to 2 buds garlic (go big or go home!) and put it in the bottle
Fill the jar 1/3 full with olive oil
Add lemon juice until the jar is 2/3 full
Add parmesan cheese until there is a little bit of room left
(The recipe is equal parts of oil, lemon juice, and parmesan)
Add scant 1/4 cup Lea & Perrins worchestishire sauce
Add 1 tsp salt
Add fresh grated pepper - a scant tsp


Shake the heck out of the jar, and then taste. Adjust seasonings. We never measure when we make this, we just adjust it until it tastes right.


Enjoy! (It gets stinkier the longer it's in the fridge!)


Sounds delicious!

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Papardelle with garlic and bacon sauce

I took this picture at Terroni, on Victoria St. in Toronto. Amazing Italian restaurant, I felt like I was in Florence or something. And delicious food. (You can eve see the garlic cloves right there!)


(Sorry about the crappy post... and picture. My computer is still broken at home, it will be about 2 more weeks till I get the part and have it fixed. Meanwhile I don't have photoshop here to fix the pic. But doesn't it look delicious? It was!)

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Broken computer

My computer at home is broken. I won't be able to post any recipes for a couple of days. But I have a surprise for the end of the summer: the recipe for GAZPACHO!! (with pictures). Lots and lots of garlic, delicious! I'll post it soon.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Voodoo Bruschetta

Remember that "Bruschetta" is pronounced broos-KAY-tah (and not (broo-SHAY-ta).

Recipe sent by Cathrine


Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 lb pizza dough (or a baquette, sliced and toasted)

6-8 ripe plum tomatoes
2 tablespoon finely chopped red onion (optional)
2 cloves to 2 buds crushed garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or several tablespoon of pesto
2 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1-4 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoon or tablespoon chilli paste (found in Asian section of supermarket)
salt & pepper to taste
10-20 pitted kalmatta olives, chopped
Parmesan, grated

Directions:

Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds. Chop tomatoes into small dice; place in bowl. Add onion, garlic, basil or pesto, vinegar or lemon juice, chili paste, olives, salt & pepper to taste. Let stand for about an hour. Drain liquid if desired. Roll out pizza dough into a thin rounded rectangle. Bake pizza dough at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Spread with tomato mixture. Top with the Parmesan. Enjoy. (As for the garlic, go big or go home!!)

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 mins

Monday, August 8, 2005

Simmered White Beans

(an Original recipe by Lorence Sing - http://lorenceskitchen.blogspot.com/)
Ingredients:
1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano or 1 teaspoon fresh Minced Oregano
2 or 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 cup of Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Directions:
1) Put all ingredients into a medium saucepan and simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10minutes
2) Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes more.
3) Serve immediately. If serving with the Garli-Lemon buttered Shrimp recipe above, drizzle a bit of the Shrimp's sauce over the beans, too.

Enjoy!

Friday, August 5, 2005

Pan Seared Shrimp with Garlic-Lemon butter

Recipe sent by Lorence:

Pan-Seared Shrimp (from Cooks Illistrated)
The cooking times below are for 21/25 shrimp (that is, the size of the shrimp is such that there are 21 to 25 in 1 pound). If 21/25 shrimp are not available, adjust cooking times slightly. Either a nonstick or traditional skillet will work for this recipe, but a nonstick will simplify cleanup.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds 21/25 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
1) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking.
2) Meanwhile, toss shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar in medium bowl.
3) Add half of shrimp to pan in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute.
4) Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds.
5) Transfer shrimp to large plate.
6) Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and shrimp;
7) After second batch has stood off heat, return first batch to skillet and toss to combine.
8) Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.
9) Serve immediately.

Pan-Seared Shrimp with Garlic-Lemon Butter
1) Beat 3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter with fork in small bowl until light and fluffy.
2) Stir in 1 medium garlic clove, minced, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, and 1/8 teaspoon salt until combined.
3) Follow recipe for Pan-Seared Shrimp, adding flavored butter when returning first batch of shrimp to skillet.
4) Serve immediately, with lemon wedges, if desired.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Garlicky creamed spinach

Recipe taken from:
Rhosgobel: Radagast's home (and there are lots of recipes that can be accessed from this page also link)

Garlicky creamed spinach
I know it's hard to get excited about creamed spinach, but this creamed spinach is loaded with garlic, and has an ideal thick and creamy texture...

White sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
5 large cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed with a garlic press
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk, warmed

Other ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
1 pound frozen, chopped spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream

To make this creamed spinach you cook up a white sauce in one pot, some spinach and onions in another pot, and then combine the two at the end. Making the white sauce and cooking the spinach can easily be done in parallel, and all told this recipe takes less than half an hour to make.

To make the white sauce:
1. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a small non-stick pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until the garlic begins to brown (~5 minutes, though it depends on your stove's heat and the size of the garlic bits).
3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour and salt, and, stirring constantly, cook until the flour begins to brown and starts to smell nutty/toasty (we don't time this process, but probably around 3 minutes).
4. Reduce the heat to medium low, and add the warmed milk to the flour mixture in two or three batches, whisking constantly until smooth. Do not add the milk all at once. The sauce will be very thick.

To cook the spinach and onions:
1. If you desire, defrost the spinach; we do this by putting the spinach in a large bowl, adding a few tablespoons of water, and then microwaving it until it's no longer icy (but still not cooked).
2. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large non-stick pot over medium-high heat.
3. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions turn clear and start to brown (at least five minutes, though again it will vary).
4. Add the spinach, water, and one teaspoon of salt, and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the spinach is done. If you've defrosted the spinach this will be about five minutes, if you're using frozen spinach, this will take longer.

Assembling the dish:
1. Add the white sauce and sour cream to the cooked spinach, and stir to mix thoroughly.

If you don't really like garlic, I might suggest reducing the amount of garlic a bit. The recipe can be made quite successfully without garlic, but then it wouldn't be "garlicy creamed spinach," now would it?

We based this recipe on a creamed spinach recipe we found online years ago (I believe it was trying to mimic Boston Market's creamed spinach), but we have long since lost the link.

Monday, August 1, 2005

I promised Sugarmama that I would post my recipe for authentic chunky "fire roasted" salsa for The Salsa Review.
Ingredients:
One white onion
8 cloves of garlic
8 or 9 green chilies (I used a kind of chili simiar to serrano chili, I found them at the St. Lawrence Market, though I think they might have been Asian. They were skinny though, that's what's important, better than jalapenos).
3 tomatoes
Salt
Half a teaspoon Mazola corn oil
Secret ingredient (to be revealed later on the post)

First, chop all the ingredients really fine.

Heat the Mazola corn oil and fry the chilies. Add salt to taste. They will be ready when the seeds start popping and they are brown. This is the "fire roasting".



Add the onion and the garlic. Add a little bit more salt and stir fry it with the chilies for about 10 minutes. The onion will caramelize. This will give the onion and garlic a nice hot flavour from the chilies.



Add the chopped tomato and the secret ingredient.


It is a cube of Knorr vegetable bouillon.



Make sure the bouillon is dissolved with the heat. Cook for another 20 to 25 minutes letting the tomato cook thoroughly. You can add half a cup of water if desired, just make sure it's not too watery. The chopped (not pureed) ingredients will give the salsa its chunkiness.

Enjoy your salsa, it is delicious!

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Know of any other garlic restaurant?

After my visit to Garlic's restaurant, I got a comment from Angel:

There's also a great restaurant called Garlic and Shots in London, England and Stockholm, Sweden. It's like a Swedish/Goth/biker bar.

See a menu of food and shots here: http://www.garlicandshots.com/main_en.html

I also got an email from Bobbi:
"...I had the opportunity to visit there a few years ago and I can tell you that you wouldn't be dissapointed.
The food was excellent and did not lack any garlic flavor. I had the garlic bread appetizer and the tiger prawns with pene pasta it was great. If you ever get the chance please don't miss this wonderful dining experience. Also the atmosphere and decor was one of a kind."

I have been thinking of this, and since I'm in no position to go to California to visit The Stinking Rose, or to Stockholm to visit Garlic and Shots, I was wondering if any of you, Garlicster readers, know of other garlic restaurants all over the world that you could provide links to. We can visit the menu on the internet. Also, maybe some of you may want to go visit and do a review like the one I did of Garlic's. Sorry, there is no sponsorship or anything, you would have to pay for your own meal, but hey, it would be fun.

Anyone interested?

Friday, July 29, 2005

Bacon and blue potato pizza

Garlic's menu said this was a garlic intensive dish. Unfortunately the strong flavour of the bacon covered the flavour of the garlic.
It was really good, though, just looking at it I get hungry!


Bacon and blue potato pizza

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Garlic ice cream

Yes, garlic ice cream does exist. I have personally tried it. At Garlic's restaurant in London, Ontario.

It was pretty good, actually. By far the most interesting dish I had that night. It was even topped with a chocolate covered garlic clove.
Here is a link to the recipe from Garlic's website.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Roasted garlic


This is the roasted garlic. They give you a whole head of garlic accompanied by toasted french bread and some grapes. It is really good. Since the garlic has been roasted it is pasty and has a nice subtle flavour. I spread it on the bread, but I had to add some salt to it. I think the addition of the grapes was a really nice touch.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Cream of garlic soup

This is the cream of garlic soup, a specialty of Garlic's. It looked a lot like cream of mushroom.


It had a subtle, not that garlicky taste. It could almost have been cream of just anything. It was good, though.
Here is a link for the recipe, found on Garlic's website (garlic soup).

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Garlic Martini

At Garlic's restaurant I had a garlic martini.

This was a normal martini with either gin or vodka and vermouth. The difference is that instead of olive or twist it had a clove of garlic inside. It was nicely roasted so it was easy to chew. An interesting take on the regular martini.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Garlic's Restaurant

I came upon the idea of this blog because of a restaurant in California, The Stinking Rose. I have never been to it, but I thought it was a great idea to have a whole restaurant devoted to Garlic.

Recently I found out there is a restaurant devoted to Garlic in London, Ontario. I could not let the summer pass without me visiting. It was worth it.


This is the entrance to Garlic's restaurant in London, Ontario, Canada.

We made a reservation for 7:00 and were received nicely. The menu is not entirely devoted to garlic but it has about 15% of its dishes with strong garlic content (or so they say).

I ordered a garlic martini and proceeded to examine the menu. The roasted garlic arrived accompanied by grapes and toast to spread on. It was really good but I think it was lacking a bit of salt, I took care of it via the salt shaker. Garlic bread with brie was another good appetizer on the menu.
The cream of garlic soup looked a bit like cream of mushroom and it was really good, but the garlic taste was subtle, it could have been stronger.
The caesar salad absolutely disappointed me, the dressing tasted like bottled dressing. After the garlic-intensive caesar salad I had earlier this summer I thought in a garlic restaurant they would be having something similar.
The garlic linguini had a better taste of garlic on it, unlike the bacon and blue potato pizza, which was advertised as garlic intensive too. The garlic flavour was overcome by the flavour of the bacon.
The most interesting part of the evening was the garlic ice cream which was exactly that: garlic ice cream. As weird/gross as it sounds, it was actually pretty good. It appears to be made from raw rather than cooked garlic and it tastes. It was accompanied by a clove of garlic dipped in chocolate, interesting again, and good.
More pictures to be posted during the week.

Here is a link to the menu, there is another Garlic's in Stratford, ON, Canada.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

I just made reservation for a place called Garlic's, in London, ON (Canada). I'm going on Saturday and will have reviews, pictures, everything for next week. I'm so excited!

Saturday, July 9, 2005

A garlic spread for half your needs

From Fearless:

1/2 c. half and half
1/2 c. white wine, i use n/a white wine coctail cooler from s&s.
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c. diced garlic
heat and reduce to 1 c. puree,
use with 1/2 c. most any cheese on pasta, rolls, vegetables etc.

Monday, July 4, 2005

Marinated garlic

Blair sent this email:

If you like garlic, I mean REALLY LIKE GARLIC , this is the recipe for you. Enjoy with meat, pasta ,rice . Don't be surprised if you find youself eating this on every thing!!!!!! Enjoy and let me know what you think.


Marinated Garlic

20 cloves
Teryiaki Sauce

Slice garlic cloves in thin slices
Put garlic slices in a jar (or container that you will never want to use again) and pour Teryiakie in untill full. You can use low salt if you like. Place in frig and forget it is there for at least 3 weeks. This is very hard for my family to do.
The longer the better. That's it . Hope you enjoy.

Saturday, July 2, 2005

Chicken with garlic and mushroom

Ingredients:
8 boneless skinless chicken thights.
20 cloves of garlic.
1 cup of chicken stock (I used instant from cubes)
Flour.
Poultry seasoning.
1 pound mushrooms.
Olive oil.


Brown chicken in olive oil. When it's brown all over transfer it to another plate. Do the same to the mushrooms and set aside.
Fry the garlic, seasoned with the poultry seasoning and salt over medium heat until garlic is golden but not charred. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour and let cook for one more minute. Add the chicken stock and when it is boiling reduce heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan, cover and let cook for about 25 minutes.




This is the chicken with garlic and mushrooms. Accompanied by a side of rice. The garlic is cooked so well that it has a sweet un-galicky flavour. It's delicious!

Thursday, June 30, 2005

A salad idea

Idea sent by Mr. Anchovy.


Tuffy P. gently sautes chopped up garlic and chilis and pine nuts in a little really excellent olive oil, then adds it to salads. It rocks.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

All purpose garlic sauce

Recipe sent by Fearless.

Use on pasta with cooked poultry, fish or vegetable pieces.

6 tbl butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
6 tbl flour
3 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 c. parmesan
dash of nutmeg

Melt butter, add garlic for 2 minutes, then flour and whisk until smooth. Add milk slowly and whisk until smooth and thickend. Add next 4 ingredients and mix well. refrigerate if not using immediately.


Sounds to me like a good recipe for chicken wings!

Monday, June 27, 2005

Scott's Spicy Tofu Crisps

Thanks to Scott for the recipe.

Spicy Tofu Crisps

1 entire bulb of garlic smashed and chopped (chopped garlic from a jar is OK)
1 package of firm tofu
sesame oil
cayenne pepper
teriyaki sauce (soy, tamari or Bragg’s can be substituted)
sesame seeds

Cut the tofu into 1/4” slices and place between two towels. Press the water out of the tofu by putting a cutting board on top of the towels – and then something heavy on the cutting board. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place several tablespoons of sesame oil on a cookie sheet. Lightly coat each rectangle of tofu and spread out on cookie sheet. Edges of tofu can touch if necessary. Lightly douse the tofu with teriyaki sauce (about a teaspoon per rectangle). Cover each rectangle of tofu with garlic, sesame seeds and a dash of cayenne (to taste). Bake in oven until garlic and tofu begins to brown (about 30 minutes).

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Garlic Turkey

Recipe sent by Christine:

My family just loves my Garlic Turkey. It is very easy and a sure-fire hit.

1 turkey breast
1 can of chicken broth
1 stick of margarine
3 Tablespoons of garlic
4 sprigs of fresh celery leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 sprigs of fresh sage
1 Tablespoon of poultry seasoning
baby carrots
salt and pepper to taste

Cover and cook at 425 for first half hour then reduce heat to 350. Baste every 30 mins until done.

After done strain broth from pan. (A fat reducer works best to remove the margarine) Make rue with flour and cold water. Add rue to boiling broth on top of stove, stirring constantly.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Need help

I ran out of recipes, I need more ideas, please!

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Meat Sticks

Mr. Anchovy has a delicious recipe for Meat Sticks.
Here it is:
Cut up a quantity or pork and veal into 1 and a quarter inch cubes (more or less)....you can use any cut of meat you like....I usually get inexpensive roasts and cut them up.
Chop up a hand-full of garlic and mix it in with the meat. Add a bottle of beer, or if you want to get fancy, you can use sherry. Let the mixture marinate in the fridge overnight.
Meanwhile, you have to get the right sticks....these are wooden skewers that are about 6 inches long.....those really long skinny ones won't do. I get mine at Czehowski's on the Queensway.
Next day......skewer the meat such that you cover as much of the sticks as you can. Alternate pork and veal....or often I use all pork, which is really just as good.
Roll the meat sticks in a bowl filled with lightly beaten eggs, then roll them in a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
Brown them in a skillet in vegetable oil until they have good colour.
Lay out a few sticks of celery on the bottom of a roasting pan.
Stack the meat sticks such that the celery keeps them off the bottom of the pan.
Roast for about 45 minutes in a 350 or 375 oven.

Enjoy hot, with a cold beer.

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Sarah's Ceasar Dressing

On Saturday I went to Julia's 25th birthday party. It was so much fun. There were hamburgers, hot dogs and a delicious garlic-intensive caesar salad, which I got the recipe for.
There were two guys speaking French and miraculously, after 5 beers I started speaking French with them. I was a bit surprised with myself since I thought I had forgotten all the French I learned when I went to school in Switzerland. Well, apparently not. I asked them (in French of course) where they were from and they said from France. Now, no wonder I understood everything they said and could carry on a conversation with them, THEY WERE NOT FROM QUEBEC!

Here's the recipe:
Marinate 4 cloves of garlic (sliced in half) in oil 24 hours in advance.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup red onion (chopped)
1 cup oil (preferably olive oil)
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 lemons
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
5 cloves garlic
1 egg
anchovies, if you want (the salad that I ate had the anchovies on the side, just in case some people didn't like them)

Directions:
Mix together oil, cheese, onion, garlic powder, oregano & egg.
Crush 1 clove of garlic into mixture.
Squeeze juice from lemons into the mix.
Add the anchovies.

I really, really recommend this dressing, just thinking of it makes my stomach growl. It is so delicious.

Sunday, June 5, 2005

Garlic Meatloaf

Recipe sent by Laura: My mother tought me to make this with no measurments, but last week I estamated and I would like to share this recipe. My husband says that it's the reason he married me!..HA HA!

GARLIC MEATLOAF

3lbs. ground beef
2 1/2 lg. cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lg. red onion, chopped
1 1/2 c. bread crumbs (Torn hamb. or hot dog bunns work better than reg. bread)
2 eggs
1/4 c. colby cheese
4oz. crushed tomatoes
1pkg. store brand meatloaf mix

Heat oven to 400 deg.
Mix all ing. well with hands, and form into a loaf
Flatten into appropriatly sized baking dish (I use glass)
Cook 1 hr. without opening oven door
After 1 hr. lightly cover top with katsup
An additional 30 min. it should be cooked through and have a nice brown crust
Cool 15 min. and serve

Home style mashed potatoes are a great side!!
Hope everyone else enjoys this as much as my family has!

Friday, June 3, 2005

Onion and Garlic Soup

Recipe sent by Mister Anchovy:

1/4 cup butter
6 large onions, chopped
4-6 large cloves garlic minced
1tsp flour
2 cups dry white wine
salt/pepper
1/2 tsp crumbled thyme
4 cups chicken stock
4 eggs
1 cup gruyere cheese grated
1/2 cup whipping cream

Heat the butter in a pan
Add onions & garlic
Saute until the onions are golden
Stir in the flour and saute for another 1 or 2 minutes
Add the wine, salt, pepper, thyme
Simmer uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes
Stir from time to time
Add chicken stock
Bring back to a boil
Cover and cook in 350 oven for 2 hours
Serve the oup in 4 small ovenproof soup bowls
Beat the eggs separately and add one to each serving, stirring it into the soup to mix well
Sprinkle with the cheese and cook in the oven for 10 minutes longer add 2 tablespoons whipping cream to each serving.

Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Garlic Cucumber Salad

Recipe sent by: Joanne.

Peel three (3) large cucumbers
Slice into very thin pieces and put into bowl
Peel and mash five cloves of Garlic
Add 1 teaspoon of table salt to cloves
With kitchen fork blend and press between fork tines until paste forms
Add and mix into sliced cucumbers
Cover bowl tightly and refridgerate overnight
Place cucumbers into colander and discard leftover liquid
With clean hands squeeze all remaining liquid from cucumber slices
Tranfer into clean bowl or serving dish
Add Two (2) to Three (3) tablespoons of Hellmans' Mayonaise
Mix well and garnish with Paprika
Serve or cover and refridgerate till desired serving time

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Grilled garlic kebabs

Now that barbecue season is here, I asked around and someone gave me this recipe.

Ingredients:
2-3 heads of garlic (around 24 large cloves)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt to taste

- Break the heads of garlic and peel each clove.

-Place the garlic cloves as a skewer crosswise on toothpicks, 3 cloves in each tooth pick.

-Brush the cloves with olive oil and season with salt.

-Wrap each mini kebab in aluminium foil.

-Grill the mini packets until tender on high heat. About 5 minutes per side turning once.

-Remove the foil and brown the garlic kebabs for 2 more minutes in each side.

Delicious for all your barbecue needs!!



PS. What is it with garlic and olive oil that they go so well together? Any ideas?

Thursday, May 26, 2005

If you run out of garlic

Some people say that there's no substitute for fresh, I am of the opinion that if you crave the stuff you should just go for whatever you can get. A jar of dried garlic will do very well.

A medium-size clove of fresh garlic is the equivalent of:

1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder


Source: Real Simple

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Garlic-sesame pork chops with bok choy and mushrooms

Recipe sent by Corona:

This recipe is actually my boyfriend's invention. It's sooo good - one of my favourite dinners.

Cook some boneless porkchops in a little bit of olive or sesame oil (1 tsp-1 tbsp)
Throw in some soy sauce (to taste), sliced mushrooms (any kind, we use plain ol' white mushrooms or cremeni and they are good) and as many garlic cloves as you want. Obviously because garlic is delicious, the more the better. Sautee for a bit until the porkchops, mushrooms and
garlic are almost cooked (they don't take too long).
Grab a bunch of bok choy and throw it on top of everything. Put a lid over the pan and let the bok choy "steam" a little.

Place porkchops and mushrooms/garlic on a bed of wild rice. Drizzle with a tiny bit of sesame oil.
Done!

Monday, May 23, 2005

Garlic on TV

I got an email last week from Amber. Garlicster will be featured on a show called "Call for Help" on TechTV. I don't have the channel and have never seen the show, I have no idea if it will be mentioned for half a second or for half the show. I think it'll be during a feature called Web Workshop. The show airs May 25th in Canada (I believe the network also airs in Australia and the US, but I don't know if you can get that specific show). Hope everyone can see it. Meanwhile I'll try to find someone who can tape it for me, because it's part of the digital cable channels and I don't have them.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

I'm on vacation, posting will resume next week. Please keep sending your garlic recipes and garlic links.

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Garlic is Better than Ten Mothers

Fritz sent this email last week:

This past weekend I was checking the dusty corners of my local video store and I ended up renting a film called... Garlic is better than ten Mothers.
see review here....
http://celluloideyes.com/blog/archive/000693.html

I don't know if the movie title is everyones cup of tea but the film was interesting. It seems a little dated cinema wise having been a low budget number from 1981 ,but it is worth a look.
Regards, Fritz

Garlic Dip

Bobbi Jo sent this email:

We make a dip for potato chips with garlic powder.
It is very simple to make and tasted great. You can use potato chips, crackers, frito's, dorito's and even spread the dip on a slice of deli ham, and roll it up, for a neat snack or lunch idea.


Garlic Dip
8 oz. brick cream cheese
milk( amount to make it creamy)
garlic powder( for each person this differs, just use amount to your taste.)

Mix all ingredients to make it creamy like a dip, use less milk for stiffer dip, more milk for creamier dip. Store in refrigerator, in a covered dish.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Garlic Custard

Recipe sent by Connie.

Serve as a starter or side dish or with a salad.

12 Garlic cloves (large), peeled
1¼ cups (300 mL) Whole milk
1 Bay leaf
2 sprigs Thyme
1 tsp (5 mL) Salt
4 Eggs, whisked
1 cup (250 mL) Whipping cream
Ground pepper to taste
Six ½ cup (125 mL) ovenproof ramekins or custard cups
One baking dish big and deep enough for the six ramekins.


Peel and cut garlic cloves in half.

Put halved garlic into saucepan and add the milk, bay leaf and 1 sprig of thyme.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer until the garlic is very soft, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC).

Remove the bay leaf and thyme from the milk

Purée the milk and garlic with salt in a food processor or in a bowl with a hand blender.

Push this mixture through a sieve into a bowl, add the eggs, cream and pepper.

You will have 3 cups (750 mL) of mixture. Check the seasoning.

Place ramekins in a baking dish and divide the mixture between them.

Pour boiling water into the baking dish so that it comes at least halfway up the ramekins.

Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the custards are set but still wobbly in the centre.

Remove the ramekins from the baking dish and place a few thyme leaves on each one.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

*** These custards can be made ahead and gently reheated (15 minutes in 325°F oven), in a baking dish filled with boiling water and covered with aluminium foil. ***

Source: LCBO, Food & Drink Magazine, Autumn 2004 issue

Sunday, May 8, 2005

Creamy Garlic Soup

I was surfing the net for garlic recipes and came across this one posted on Scott's Scribblings

Today’s Sunday soup is a garlic lover’s delight. This one takes a bit of time to prepare, but that’s ok because the Bucs aren’t playing today.

Creamy Garlic Soup

* ¼ cup olive oil
* 1 cup garlic cloves, sliced (about 3 heads)
* ⅓ cup celery, sliced
* ½ cup white onion, sliced
* ½ cup dry white wine
* 6 sprigs thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* ½ tsp rosemary leaves
* 1½ tsp salt
* 1 tsp white pepper
* 6 cups chicken stock
* 1 pint heavy cream

(I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that those spices should be fresh and the pepper freshly cracked.)

Boil garlic in water until it begins to soften, about 5-10 minutes. Discard water. Heat olive oil and then add celery and onion. Saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not let vegetables brown. Add wine and cook until reduced by half.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionaly, until reduced by a quarter, about 45-60 minutes.

This soup goes well with bread.

Friday, May 6, 2005

Garlic Lover's Soda

Recipe sent by Clara:

Ingredients:
4 qts water
1 cup honey
5 minced fresh garlic cloves

Procedure:
Dissolve honey in water. Bring to boil, and add garlic. Simmer 10 min.
Cool to room temp or colder. Bottle, chill, and carbonate. Use 50 psi if you want to recap. Now if you have read this far, go check yourself into a nut house for even thinking of making something this disgusting. Yecch! Eew!!! (And I'm a garlic lover, too!) th results.
If anyone else tries this please let me know how it turns out and the processes used. ? I added this after reading Papazian's comments on making mead.

Specifics:
N/A

Comments:
That Red-Dog-drinkin' Devil spoke to me thru those beer-stealing aliens and made me write this

Taken from Stout Billy's Recipe Book

Thursday, May 5, 2005

Garlic and Vampires

I am a big fan of vampires, and I have the Vampire Book, but it's at my mother's and I haven't had time to pick it up. So I found this post at the Litux Blog and I loved it. Take a look it's lots of fun.
Garlic and Vampires.

Wednesday, May 4, 2005


This great picture was taken by Jen. You can also find it at http://12frogs.com/spotted/archives/2004/05/garlic/

Monday, May 2, 2005

Ginger Garlic Paste

I got this email from Philip, the recipe is allrecipes.com:

Ginger Garlic Paste
Submitted to allrecipes.com by DC Girly Girl
"After finding tons of recipes calling for ginger-garlic paste, but only finding ginger paste or garlic paste, but not both, at local grocery stores, I decided to find a recipe for it myself. Basically it is just equal amounts of ginger root and garlic pulsed together. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. You may use water in place of the oil, but it will not keep as long".
Servings: 16

Ingredients:
4 ounces garlic, chopped
4 ounces fresh ginger root, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed

Directions:
1. In a food processor, combine the garlic and ginger. Pulse to blend, adding small amounts of olive oil to facilitate the blending, until it makes a smooth paste. Refrigerate or freeze.


--------------------------------
To view this recipe's nutrition facts, read reviews from other home cooks, change the number of servings or create a personal shopping list, visit: http://sidedish.allrecipes.com/az/85132.asp?tsrc=ef

Sunday, May 1, 2005

Garlic Valley Farms

Link sent by Clarissa:

http://www.garlicvalleyfarms.com/

LOTS of GARLIC PRODUCTS!! Enjoy!

Friday, April 29, 2005

Godzilla Says if you want to breathe fire ....Eat more Garlic.

Photo sent by Fritz

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Hummus

Recipe sent by Jay


Yield
about 2 cups

Time
10 minutes (+ chick pea soaking and cooking)

Tools
food processor or potato masher and bowl

Ingredients
2 cup chick peas, soaked and cooked or canned, drained and rinsed
1 - 1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika

Directions
Place the cooked chick peas (it's ok if they're still warm) in the food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice, and water. Process for about a minute, until smooth. If too thick, add more water.

Stir in the tahini and spices, taste, and add more lemon juice/tahini/cumin/paprika as appropriate.

Spread the hummus into a shallow bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with lemon slices and minced parsley.

Serve chilled, with warm pita bread and/or fresh vegetables.

Update. Jay just sent this email:
I tried this last night and the original recipe called for double the
garlic and it was WAY too much. I included the cut back in what I sent
you. It should be perfect this way.

Thank you, it sounds delicious!

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Garlic Garlic Garlic

Information sent by Fearless

Garlic can be peeled and simmered whole in water or in various dishes to bring about a milder flavor, or crushed after roasting it till soft for the strongest and best flavor. One can then puree it with a little olive oil or cream and add to the drippings of roasts, stews or soups. If made into a paste it can be added to mashed potatoes or mayonnaise and many sauteed vegetables. oregano, thyme, and marjoram are individually or togeather, usually good accompaniments.

Deglaze or add to pan drippings, vegetable or chicken stock or wine. Boil down to thicken and strain.

Chicken and fish are the biggest beneficiaries of garlic but as this garlicblog demonstrates there are multiple uses.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Tzatziki

Tzatziki is a greek dish (dip) and it can have from moderate to lots of garlic, here is the recipe (I just saw it on the Food Network).

In a mixing bowl, blend

1 cup strained plain yogurt (or Greek or Balkan yogourt from the store).
1 medium cucumber very finely grated and dehydrated by putting in strainer and pressing with paper towel, (you don't want the cucumber to be watery or the tzatziki won't turn out as planned).
2 garlic cloves very finely grated (or more),
1/4 tsp onion powder,
1 tbsp olive oil, and
The juice of half a lemon.

Blend until the mix is really smooth.

It is meant to be a dip for pitas. You can keep it in the fridge for a week or so.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Garlic basil vinegar and some uses

From Fearless

Heat to boil 2 cups of good red wine vinegar, add 6 crushed garlic cloves and a few dozen basil leaves.
Turn off heat, cool, store for a month then filter.

1. Sprinkle on salad

2. Marinade chicken;
1/2 c olive oil
3 tbl g/b vinegar
1 tbl tamarind paste {indian} can be found inexpensively in asian markets.
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and marinade 5 chicken breasts for at least 3 hours. Grill or bake. Serve with warm sauce.

Sauce
Heat for 5 minutes, until carmelized
1 red onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
2 tbl olive oil
2 red peppers, seeded, grilled and diced
2 peaches, pitted, peeled and diced
1 tbl sugar

Deglaze with 1/3 c g/b vinegar then add
2 c tomato juice
1 tsp salt
5 drops tobasco sauce
simmer 15 minutes then puree all
use sparingly with chicken.

3. Use g/b vinegar when making gazpacho, pizza, etc.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Roasted Garlic Bruschetta

Jacque sent this email:

I'm an event planner and we entertain a lot in our home. This is the recipe that continues to be a favorite. It's easy and there's never any left at the end of the night. Everyone rants and raves about it...

Roasted Garlic Bruschetta

2 heads garlic, roasted and peeled

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 - 12 thick slices good quality, crusty bread



Mash the garlic with enough olive oil to make a thick paste and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil the bread until toasted on both sides. Spread the garlic paste on one side, drizzle with additional olive oil if desired, and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.


Have fun having people over for this one!


Jacque

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Garden Fresh Gourmet Artichoke Garlic Salsa

The Salsa Review has this post written by Sugarmama:


Texture: Very fine
Flavor: Garlicy
Price: N/A
Where purchased: N/A
Refrigeration: Yes
Website: Garden Fresh Gourmet
Spiciness: 3
Grade: B-

The kind folks at Garden Fresh Gourment sent me a tub of Artichoke Garlic salsa to try, so I'm not sure where it is available for purchase. Being consistent with our recent garlic-themed posts, I think this is a great time to review the Artichoke Garlic Salsa.

I like artichokes and garlic a lot, but I found this salsa a bit overpowering with the garlic and underpowering with the artichokes. Artichokes do not have a strong flavor, so the scant pieces that were mixed in with the salsa served as more of a visual decoration than anything else.

The salsa has a flavorful taste to it. It certainly isn't a boring salsa, though it is mild and acceptable for anyone who has a sensitive stomach. However, I brushed my teeth and gargled with mouthwash three times after eating the salsa in a futile attempt to get the garlic aftertaste out of my mouth. If you're planning on being near people after you eat this salsa, don't eat it.

If you absolutely mad about garlic, I think you will enjoy this salsa. I am going to stick with my personal favorite produced by Garden Fresh, Jack's Special Medium.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Garlic Spray

Corina sent this email:

I happened across this website today and thought of garlicster! mmmm!
I wonder where we can find this in Canada?

http://www.garlicvalleyfarms.com/product2.html


I wonder too. I tried to look on their website but couldn't find anything about "where to find us" or "stores" or anything. Does anyone know?

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Foreign garlic rubs from fearless

Donald says:

These garlic rubs i've not used yet and would appreciate any feedback

Cuban (adobo) , a garlic marinade found in some price conscious stores. good with beef, pork, lamb, fish, and shellfish. Size counts, so that a large pork leg may take 7 hours and shrimp may take 1 hour.
Blend:
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 c lime juice
1/3 c orange juice


Brazilian garlic marinade:
chops for 2 hours, legs to 8 hours; for pork, lamb, beef and poultry. (3 lbs)
6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbl parsley or celentro
1 tbl rosemary
2 tsp hot sauce
1 tbl red wine vinegar
1/4 c minced onion
1/4 c white wine
3/4 c lime juice



Thank you, Donald. So does anyone have any feedback?

Monday, April 11, 2005

Aioli

Mister Anchovy writes:

visit: http://www.sarigordonliving.com/blog/2005/03/this-is-it.html peacebang sent me this link....looks tasty....

cheers

mister anchovy


Indeed it does look tasty, and I was looking for a recipe for aioli. Thanks!

Friday, April 8, 2005

Chicken wing recipe!

Recipe sent by Kristine:


My friends and family and I usually just refer to this recipe as 'THE FAMOUS DISAPPEARING CHICKEN WINGS' (you'll see why when you bring a nice platter of them to a party, or just make them for yourself)

-about a dozen whole chicken wings, cut at the joints, tips
discarded.

-about 1/2 cup flour

-1/4 cup each soy sauce (use silver swan if you can find it,
or another dark asian-made soy sauce, kikkoman is not
that great) and honey.

-1 green onion, chopped

-1/2 clove garlic, smashed (here's the deal, if you want them more garlicky you can add up to 1 clove of garlic per wing).

-pinch of pepper

1. Combine honey, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, and green onion into a big bowl or container (you'll be dipping the wings into this later)

2. Pat chicken pieces dry. dip in flour, shake off excess. fry in lots of hot oil (oil should cover wings almost halfway) over medium-hot heat until golden brown.

3. Immediately dip each fried wing into honey/soy sauce bowl, shake off excess, place on serving platter.

4. Serve with some nice white rice, pref. short-grained asian rice, and some vegetables. Roll your eyes upward in an expression of heavenly chicken wing glory.

Enjoy!

Note: you may find you prefer the sauce sweeter or less sweet. I usually use a little more honey than soy sauce.

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

How to keep garlic

So, after my bad experience last week, with my garlic sprouting and everything, here are some of the comments Garlicster readers sent with ideas and suggestions:

Roger said:
garlic should be stored in a paper bag.

eLisa wrote:
Well I don't really know about garlic in specific, but I do know about onions. You keep onions in a brown paper bag in the low humidity side of your crisper and they stay firm and do not sprout for a really long time. I use my onions within a month, so I don't know how much longer than that that they would keep. Perhaps garlic is similar? I just buy new garlic whenever mine gets soft or sprouts and never thought about trying to keep it in the frig cause I heard it was a no-no like you did. I am going to try the brown paper bag thing now that you've got me thinking about it!

Arthur:
If your garlic sprouted that quickly, then it was ready to sprout. I worked in the Caribbean and bought garlic by the case. Sometimes it would all sprout in a couple of weeks, other times I could keep it for months. The only advice that I can give you is to buy high quality bulbs, keep them cool and in the dark, and don't use any sprouts. I'm sure that a garlic farmer could give you much better advice.

Patrick sent this email:
I have tried various ways of keeping garlic and I still feel the best way is to store it in the fridge where it stays dark and cool. I keep it in one of the veg. draws with my onions(which I keep in a plastic bag) and this seems to keep the garlic fresh and it lasts the longest. Like you I have kept my garlic stored in the dark , but in a a cabinet and it too, started to blossum. I think the cool temp. is what helps keep it fresh the longest. Hope we hear about other ideas!

Fritz said:
I have seen small ceramic crocks that were sold as storage for garlic, claiming to keep it fresh longer. When I buy garlic it is alot like buying bananas. The state that the garlic is in at the time of purchase will tell me alot about how long it has till it is compromised. I try to find it in the best posssible state and then use it up as soon as possible.

Annie left this comment:
I keep fresh garlic flavorful by peeling the buds clean, then packing the cloves tightly in a small jar, then cover with olive oil...they stay firm. I keep them in the fridge, although have been meaning to try storing it in the pantry to see just how long it will keep.

Simple suggested:
I keep my garlic in a ceramic crock on the kitchen counter so it's always nearby. I can purchase 4-5 head and still come to the end of 3 weeks without it being compromised. Garlic needs to be in a dry, dark environment for best storage, but you should carefully choose only the best at the store to prolong your garlic's "shelf life."

Eric also said:
Not unlike the other garlic aficionados, we keep our garlic in a little ceramic crock with dime-sized holes all over its circumference. Whenever we maked chili, spaghetti or any other dish that we feel could use some, it's right there.

So what I think is the most popular method, is to keep the garlic in a sort of "cookie jar" ceramic container, screw the cap tightly and not let any light see the garlic. Also I guess that garlic I got last week was about to sprout anyway, I put that in the fridge, but next time I'll know what to do.
Thanks everyone for the great ideas!

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Garlic poached eggs with croutons

Recipe sent by Fearless.


Different, but good:

1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbl veg. oil
18 bread cubes, fry, turning often, remove
or
buy store bought garlic croutons

Add to pan or create a new 1 cup of consomme with 1 cup of water or 2 cups of water and 2
beef cubes.
Poach eggs in barely bubbling broth, 3 minutes, covering occasionally with broth.
Remove to plate.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Add croutons and broth enough for personal taste.

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Keeping garlic

So today I have a question for all Garlicster readers. Here's the deal:

Last week I bought a pack of 4 garlic heads, I used one whole head on the chicken I cooked (recipe to be posted soon), and left the other three heads in the mesh bag on the kitchen counter. Now my kitchen does not get a lot of natural light, but it's not totally dark. Last night, when I was getting ready to prepare a delicious garlic fetuccini I reached for the garlic and there were grown stems on two out of the three heads I had. Some of the cloves didn't germinate, but some did. I just cut the green part off the cloves and used those cloves for my spaghetti.
Now the question is: Does anyone know the correct way to keep garlic? These heads had been there for only one week and this happened. I read somewhere that you shouldn't keep garlic in the fridge, but that's just what I did after last night.

What is your best way of keeping fresh garlic? Have you had any experiences like mine (garlic germinating)?

Leave a comment or send me an email and I'll post it for discussion.

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Steak marinade from fearless

Recipe sent by Donald.

1 inch thick steaks at least.
Marinate 8 hours or overnight. Don't overmarinate or use too thin a steak.
Wipe clean, discarde marinade, brush with oil.

Marinade:
1 1/2 tsp 5 spice pwdr.
1/3 c. teriyaki sauce
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tbl. honey
1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
1 tbl. or more {any amt.} garlic pwdr.

Mix all, turn meat at least once, can be used also on chicken. You'll never use another marinade.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Garlic Roast Beef

Before putting any roast of beef in the oven, cut about a dozen slits
in the meat, big enough to completely bury a whole clove in each slit.
Then continue as normal, roasting to perfection. The buried garlic
becomes a glorious sweet spread inside the beef. Your guests will
feel the love.

mister anchovy

Monday, March 28, 2005

Crockpot I LOVE ME SOME GARLIC! Chicken

Recipe sent by Debbie:

2 t thyme
2 t rosemary
2 t sage
2 t parsley
1 can chicken broth
40 cloves peeled garlic (frankly, I'm lazy, I buy 1 of those small jars of ready-minced garlic and use the whole thing)
1 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
3 lb whole chicken or chicken parts (I use boneless skinless breastes)
2 stalks sliced celery


If using a whole chicken-
Mince herbs.
Stuff cavity with half the herbs.
Put celery in bottom of the crock. (this is a trick that can help us posties a lot. Celery or potatoes in the bottom of a crock helps raise the meat out of the bottom, where it would soak in its own fat.)
Put chicken on top of celery.
Pour chicken broth around chicken.
Add garlic around chicken.
Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper over chicken.
Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours.
Remove chicken from crock to serving platter.
If desired-
Squeeze roasted garlic out of skins onto chicken or low carb bread or crackers and spread with a knife.



Wow, all these garlic chicken recipes are becoming quite popular. I will soon post about the garlic mushroom chicken I made on Friday, with pictures.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Friendly Garlic Chicken

Recipe sent by Debbie:

3 large heads of garlic (about 40 cloves)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons virgin olive oil
8 chicken thighs, skinned
1 cup chopped parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
freshly ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Separate garlic into cloves. In a saucepan of rapidly boiling water, blanch garlic for about 30 seconds.

3. Run garlic under cold water. Trim tops and bottoms of garlic and slip off skins.

4. Pour olive oil into a 3 to 4 quart casserole with tightly fitting lid. Add garlic and toss to coat with oil. Add chicken and turn to coat with oil. Scatter parsley over top and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

5. Cover and bake 1 hour.

Makes 8 servings.

Believe it or not, when you cook garlic for a long time like this, its pungency disappears and is replaced by a delicate nutlike flavor; which won't offend anyone.



Thank you Debbie, it sounds delicious. I made a chicken similar to this one on Friday and it turned out really good. I'll post pictures and the recipe soon.

Friday, March 25, 2005

Garlic tube

Fritz also sent this picture:

It is a garlic tube I bought at a gourmet shop, you stick the cloves inside it and roll it and the skin comes off the garlic very easily. I like this thing alot better than using a knife to crush then remove the garlic skin. You roll it and it comes off. i like to do a coupl bulbs at once and then store the rest in a small closed container in the fridge.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Garlic press

Fritz sent this picture and said:
It is my German Garlic press which works wonders, I am not sure of the
brand I think it is Henckel? It was not cheap but I felt at the time
stainless steel would last longer than plastic.


Garlic press
This thing works like a charm. it has plenty of mechanical advantage and it is not hard to clean with the removable inserts.


It looks great and I'm sure it's way better than your regular plastic garlic press from the supermarket.
Thanks, Fritz!

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Chicken margarita

Recipe sent by Bruce Baird:

3 Boneless chicken breast butterflied (Marinate with Olive oil, salt pepper, garlic powder, cayenne Pep for about an hour.

- Get grill screaming and char on one side, turn for a minute and return to a covered casserole bowl.


Sauce:

2 jalapenos chopped
2 TS minced garlic
2 TS minced fresh Cilantro
juice of one lime
half a shot of tequila
1/2 Stick of salted butter

After chicken is cooked and Spanish rice is done start the sauce

- add a TS olive oil
- sweat the garlic
- add the Tequila and lime juice (cook off the Alcohol)
- add the jalapenos

Cook a little and then whisk in the cold butter to thicken the sauce. Pour over the chicken which mixes with the chicken broth and add the fresh cilantro as you serve it along side the Spanish rice.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Garlic spread

Recipe sent by Mark Hamzy

Visit this link (link: garlic spread), he has beautiful picture of delicious garlic.

I copied the instructions but you HAVE TO see the pictures.

"I start with three heads of garlic (not cloves, but the whole plant :-). Now, the easiest way to roast garlic is to cut of the top parts of each clove, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO for short), wrap it in aluminum foil, and bake it for 30 to 45 minutes. The problem is that you have to wait until the garlic is cool enough to squeeze and you have to deal with some of the paper skin when you are pushing out the now soft garlic. I use a different method. I seperate each clove from the head, cut off the root bit and peel off the skin. It may take a little longer to prepare but there are benefits. I get to inspect each clove for nasty spots and cut them off. I am assured of getting 100% of the garlic. And, I get to dump them into the food processor immediately. Once I have peeled each clove, I put them into a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle them with EVOO.

Then fold the sheet and crimp the ends. Next, poke many holes in the top to vent steam. You want to be able to fry the garlic in order to carmelize it but you also want so steam to help cook the garlic. Too much steam will result in water on the bottom which interferes with the frying. Place the pouch in the oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for 30 to 45 minutes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the smell of roasting garlic.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cloves. I like a mix of pepper that has been corsely grated and that has been finely grated. Turn on the food processor and start to drizzle in the EVOO. You want the EVOO to emulisfy and dissapear into the mixture. This is the tricky part. Pour too much oil and it will seep out of the final product. Olive oil is not a good oil to create an emulsion with (and we arent using egg yolks to help either).

Next, pour in a mixture of Parmesan Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and Asiago cheeses. I usually use the Kraft three cheese can, but since I went to Central Market, I bought the individual cheeses and shredded them myself.

Finally, scrape the spread and put it into a jar. I use a small ramekin. I store it by covering it with a small bit of plastic wrap and use a old newspaper rubber band to seal it to the jar.

Oh yeah, I made corn bread to go with it!"

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Bread dipping sauce

Recipe sent by Kent Powell.

This is one of the best bread dipping sauces I have ever had. I don't have exact measurements, but it's very easy to make it to taste.

Pour a some light extra virgin olive oil into a small bowl (I would guess about 1/3 - 1/2 cup)
Add a small amount of Pesto (optional)
Add several cloves crushed garlic
Salt to Taste

Use for dipping (crunchy outside, soft inside) french bread cut into inch to inch & a half slices.


If you have any questions or find it confusing, leave a coment and Kent will explain it to you.

Friday, March 18, 2005

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Recipe sent by Jamie (and dedicated, of course, to Clara)

Serves 6-8

2 garlic bulbs, separated into cloves, unpeeled
8 tbsp unsalted butter
3 lb baking potaotoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk
salt and white pepper

1) Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the garlic cloves and boil for 2 minutes, then drain and peel.

2) In a heavy frying pan, melt half of the butter over low heat. Add the blanched garlic cloves, then cover and cook gently for 20-25 minutes, until very tender and just golden, shaking the pan and stirring occasionally. Do not allow the garlic to scorch or brown.

3) Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly. Spoon the garlic and any butter from the pan into a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming and set aside.

4) Peel and quarter the potatoes, place in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to just cover them. Salt the water generously and bring to a boil over high heat. (Note: I didn't fully peel the potates - the skins work A-OK)

5) Cook the potatoes until tender, then drain and work through a food mill or press through a sieve back into the saucepan. Return the pan to medium heat and, using a wooden sppon, stir the potatoes for 1-2 minutes to dry them out completely. Remove from heat.

6) Warm the milk over medium-high heat until bubbles form around the edge. Gradually beat the milk, remaining butter and reserved garlic puree into the potatoes, then season with salt and, if needed, white pepper.


Source; Vegetarian: The Best-Ever Recipe Collection - Linda Frader (Hermes House 2003)

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Have a little cabbage with your garlic

Recipe sent by Fritz.

This is a simple recipe I use all the time and I use alot of garlic in it

First a teaspoon of peanut oil in the pot
Heat on high
Now goes in the Garlic here a clove there a clove too much is never enough and some chopped scallions
Cook for 2 minutes
Then add a cup of chicken stock
Now you have the broth that will steam the cabbage wedges you put into this pot
after the cabbage has cooked for a while add some sesame seeds to top it off
You can also add a tomato to this broth while it steams the cabbage.. if you want.

At this point you can serve the cabbge with anything you want . I sometime put some grilled kielbasa into the pot with the cabbage and bingo it is damn goood. It also goes well with chicken i.e. barbequed , fried, heavily seasoned etc...

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Garlic-intensive green salsa

In honour of The Salsa Review, I am posting the recipe for the green salsa that my father used to make:

1 medium white onion
5 cloves garlic
1 pound tomatillos
5 serrano chilies
one tbsp of Knorr chicken stock in powder, or vegetable stock (if you want to make it vegetarian)
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste (be careful because the Knorr chicken stock is already a bit salty)

Chop all ingredients and put them in the blender. Blend until smooth.
Voila, a delicious and very garlicky green salsa!