I'm channeling my inner pseudo "Italian" again. Garlic is one of those things people love or hate, there really is no middle ground. I adore garlic! Many people think that it is a little strong, but not if you roast it. It's really, really easy to do. One thing I have to mention though....sometimes people get confused how much garlic should be included in a recipe. A bulb of garlic, is the entire garlic, the head that you buy at the grocery store. The individual parts are the cloves. Because there is indeed, such a thing as too much garlic!
The Garlic Capital of the World is Gilroy, California. Brian and I were in California several years ago and we drove through Gilroy and it was all you could smell. Heavenly! While we were in California, I wanted to try a restaurant in San Francisco I'd heard about called "The Stinking Rose." Their motto is "We flavor our garlic with food." Unfortunately it was not meant to be, as parking in San Francisco can be a bit of a nightmare!
How to Roast Garlic:
Peel away the dry outer layers of skin from desired number of garlic heads. (one medium head makes about a tablespoon of garlic paste) Leave skins of clove intact. Cut off the pointed top portion (about 1/4 inch) with a sharp knife, leaving bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves of garlic.
Place the heads of garlic, cut side up, in small baking dish. Drizzle each head with 2 tsp olive oil. Bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until cloves feel soft when pressed.
Aloow head (s) to cool slightly before handling. You can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
So now that you've roasted some, what can you do with it??
--Serve warm and spread it on french bread as an appetizer. (They do this at Vinny T's and I love it!!)
--Mix with olive oil and toss with pasta and Parmesan
--Add to potatoes before mashing
--Combine with softened butter and use for basting chicken
--It makes an excellent pizza topping! (my favorite pizza is actually basil, mushroom and roasted garlic)
Now, a couple of recipes:
CHICKEN WITH 40 CLOVES OF GARLIC (Yes, you read that correctly!!)
This is one of my favorite chicken dishes. The roasting makes the garlic really mellow. Instead of bread, I like to serve it with rice to soak up the juices.
Ingredients1 (4-lb) chicken1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon black pepper1 scant cup olive oil2 fresh parsley sprigs1 fresh rosemary sprig1 fresh thyme sprig1 fresh sage sprig1 bay leaf (not California) 1 celery rib40 garlic cloves, peeled (from 3 to 4 heads of garlic)
Accompaniment: toasted baguette slicesSpecial equipment: kitchen string
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Rinse chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Tie legs together with kitchen string and fold wings under chicken.
Heat oil in a 6- to 8-quart wide heavy ovenproof pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, turning it carefully, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Tie herbs and celery together with string to make a bouquet garni and add to pot along with garlic cloves. Put chicken, breast side up, on top of cloves and bake, covered tightly, in middle of oven, basting twice, until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into fleshy part of a thigh (avoid bone) registers 170°F, 30 to 40 minutes.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board, reserving pan juices, and let stand 10 minutes. Cut chicken into serving pieces and spread roasted garlic on toasts. Serve chicken drizzled with some of reserved pan juices.
Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Jam
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005
See this recipe on air Tuesday Jul. 22 at 2:00 PM ET/PT.
Show:
Emeril Live
Episode:
Gotta Have Garlic
4 thick-cut pork chops Canola oil Essence, recipe follows Garlic Jam, recipe follows
Preheat a grill to medium-high. Brush pork chops with oil and season with Essence. Place pork on grill and grill on both sides until a meat thermometer reaches 150 to 155 degrees F. Serve pork chops with garlic jam.
Garlic Jam: 4 large heads garlic 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 of a sweet onion 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Bring a medium saucepan with salted water to a boil. Cut the garlic heads in half crosswise and blanch for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic heads and any loose garlic cloves from the water with a slotted spoon and drain well. Pour olive oil into a small baking dish and place the garlic heads cut side down into the oil. Add any loose garlic cloves and the onion quarter to the oil. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
Remove the garlic from the oil and squeeze the softened garlic cloves into a medium bowl. Peel the onion quarter and finely dice. Add the diced onion to the garlic cloves and mash with a fork until smooth. Stir the Worcestershire and lemon juice into the mashed garlic and continue stirring until smooth and creamy. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. The garlic jam will keep refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 1/2 cup
Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast): 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup
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