I am sad to say that I did not look ahead last week, and managed to overlook the fact that Sunday, April 19, was National Garlic Day. We should have been celebrating like crazy, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy a little madcap garlic revelry this weekend. Let the Garlic Games begin!
Last Sunday Mr. Friday fired up the grill, and prepared a chicken dish from his bachelor days – which put my pathetic singleton cooking days to shame. He took a nob of good butter and three crushed cloves of garlic. He heated them in a small frying pan until they reached a rich, piquant, aromatic state. Then he basted the split chicken breasts he was masterfully tossing on the grill. Mr. F. added a small fling of parsley once he had plated the chicken, a green salad, some candle light and our favorite cheap white wine. I don’t know where you are in the vampire and zombie culture, but we exuded enough garlic that we were thoroughly vampire-proof by the end of the meal. And when the zombies eat our brains, they too will be impervious to vampire attacks.
Not only was the chicken well doused with garlic, but our salad was dressed in the finest homemade garlic dressing. We may have gone a wee bit over board with the garlic, but it was deelish nonetheless and I cannot recommend it too highly: it is brilliant in its simplicity:
3 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
https://food52.com/recipes/31798-brussel-sprout-salad-with-creamy-garlic-dressing
Now that I am trying to reign in my carb intake I cannot eat garlic bread, at least until after next April’s wedding. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it’s toasty delish smell. I think a little bit of garlic bread would really top off this garlic fest of a meal. We usually split a baguette and put it under the broiler until it is lightly toasted, then rub a garlic clove over the toasted surfaces, then schmear on softened butter and drizzle it with oil. Then we pop it back in the oven to melt the butter. Ina Garten has a slightly more elegant was with garlic bread. https://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=102&S=0
The experts go back and forth on the merits of health benefits that result from eating garlic. I’ve read conflicting accounts: garlic lowers your blood pressure, it helps your cholesterol, it cures acne, it is an antiseptic, but watch out if you are on blood thinners. That is all well and good, but we eat it for the pleasure of the flavor and aroma, and as self-defense. And not just from vampires – if one of us eats garlic, we both eat garlic. https://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/health-benefits-garlic
Though this was interesting. Anything that brings illuminated medieval texts back into the public eye is newsworthy indeed:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medieval-garlic-and-bile-potion-kills-mrsa-superbug/
If you still need ideas for your summer vacation, you can fly out to California and the Gilroy Garlic Festival – the original garlic festival – and wallow in garlic chicken popcorn, garlic Philly cheesesteaks, and garlic ice cream. Egads! The 2011 Garlic Cookoff winner was: Stacked Steak Napoleon on Garlic Paper with Asparagus, Radicchio, Shiitakes and Stilton – which sounds as if it is way above my skill set. They are serious about their garlic in California. https://gilroygarlicfestival.com/festival/gourmet-alley-food-beverage/
Here is a recipe for garlic ice cream, which one would not eat with a sugar cone walking down High Street on a summer’s evening, but would use as a side to compliment the complicated and sophisticated tastes you have magically woven in the kitchen: https://gildedfork.com/savory-garlic-ice-cream/
And my personal fave goes back to my impecunious college days, when Shirl and I would whip up a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. She had the virtuosic idea of adding garlic powder to the cooked day-glow mac and cheese, just before adding a good shake of Parmesan cheese (right out of the canister), and mixing well. Yumsters. Forever twenty-one.
“You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times.”
-Morley Safer
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Robert Hall says
GARLIC PASTA MIRACLE (The Italian version of Mother’s Chicken Soup)
While attending our daughter’s graduation from the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School, My wife became very sick. She barely made it through the ceremony and courageously accompanied us to celebrate at an Italian restaurant in South Philly (she was green as our salad). The restaurant owner recognized her plight and told her that he had the perfect remedy, which he would cook personally. During the dinner, Penny showed signs of improvement and ecco – by morning she was her old self. Now, whenever we are feeling down, we head for the kitchen to prepare this miracle food cure.
1½ large bulbs garlic*
½ to ¾ cup, non virgin olive oil
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
A large handful of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated Asiago (or parmesan) cheese
Ladle of pasta water
Remove paper and skin from each garlic clove, and slice into thin chips. Place garlic chips in a small but heavy pan and pour in the olive oil. Turn on the heat and adjust to keep to a low simmer, stirring occasionally. As the garlic starts to darken, turn off heat and wait until the garlic turns a light brown. Immediately remove garlic with a slotted spoon and dry on paper towels. The garlic should become crisp.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta and when it is ready, pour a ladle full of pasta water into the oil. Drain pasta, dump it into a large bowl then add the oil, parsley, salt, fresh ground pepper and the cheese. Top with the garlic chips and serve with crusty bread and a tomato caprese salad. (sliced tomatoes topped with sliced mozzarella cheese) A fresh Burgundy or a white Cote de Rhone will finish off the remaining germs.
*When you have old garlic, cut it lengthwise and look for a yellow to green core, which tells you that the garlic is getting on and probably bitter. Using a small, sharply pointed knife cut out this inner stem and the taste will be restored.
Jean Sanders says
Garlic – it’s a miracle!