Garlic!

[Ishbel]

I used to cook a classic provencal dish of 'chicken with 40 cloves of garlic' - but haven't cooked it for a long time. It was a popular restaurant dish here in the UK in the 70s...

I bet there are hundreds of versions of it online!

[MikeLM]

Shredding garlic is one of the things that the Microplane does best.

You achieve what is basically a puree.

I frequently use the CI approach to garlic - especially as I frequently use about five or six times as much as the recipe calls for - which is to sautee about 2/3 of the total in EVOO to a very light tan to tone down the bite and bring out the nuttiness. Then add the balance at the end of prep to put back some bite. Best of both worlds.

If you need a large quantity of minced garlic, put the cloves in a mini-Cuisinart and run on low speed. The garlics bounce around until the bits are just about the right size and then these stick to the sides of the bowl, out of the way of the blades. You wind up with a VERY uniform chop.

When a food processor recipe calls for garlic, I always put it into the machine first and buzz it to get the uniform chop, and then put in the other ingredients.

All five of my grandchildren (who range in age from 8 to 13) are, as the foodies say, "heavy-duty garlic freaks." Must be something genetic about it.

Mike

[shel]

Originally Posted by Ishbel

I used to cook a classic provencal dish of 'chicken with 40 cloves of garlic' - but haven't cooked it for a long time. It was a popular restaurant dish here in the UK in the 70s...

I bet there are hundreds of versions of it online!

I've been making a traditional version of 40 garlic chicken since 1969 - have made it dozens of times. Many of the on line versions are bastardizations of the traditional Provençal dish, with most not even cooking the garlic with the chicken. Some are OK, but the chicken doesn't carry the flavor of infused garlic which, imo, makes the dish less than it can be.

Paula Wolfert has a couple of great chicken/garlic recipes in her book, The Cooking of Southwest Francre. One of my favorites is Poulet aux Perles d'Ail Doux et au Sauternes, and the other is a lemon-garlic chicken, the name of which escapes me right now. It's a Catalan dish with a name something like Chicken for the bandits hideout, both of which I've made a few time over the last 25 years.

shel

[tessa]

try smoking the garlic ......ohmgoodness its incredible

[Bazza]

Garlic mashed potato is really good especially if you have got lots of butter in there.

[Ishbel]

I didn't bother to look for 40 cloves/chicken recipes online - and I suspect that you're correct that they are not 'authentic', The version I make is one that I learned at a cooking school in Provence, in about 1971... Somehow or another, like many recipes, it has slipped off my list of 'use often' recipes.. Perhaps I'll give it a go again this weekend.

[onesipforme]

i love garlic too. it's good for you and supposedly it helps you sleep.

[Bishop]

The Bagna Cauda mentioned above was always a favorite of my family's around the holidays.

Slowly sautee lots of chopped garlic in a mix of olive oil and butter. I like to use a fork to press/mash the pieces of garlic as they cook. I am talking about a whole stick of butter and one or two heads of garlic chopped. The mix will become thicker and nuttier as the garlic breaks down. Then put in a can of anchovie fillets in olive oil and mash those as well. Then add cream and lots of black pepper. Slowly simmer or serve in a fondue pot.

We would always stand around an electric skillet full of this magic concoction dipping into it with bread, cauliflower, bell pepper slices, celery, or anything else you want. I mean it is butter, garlic, olive oil, anchovies, and black pepper. It doesn't really matter what you dip into it, It will taste amazing.

[AndyG]

Originally Posted by tessa

try smoking the garlic ......ohmgoodness its incredible

I tried that but couldn't get it to fit right in the cigarette paper.

And when I lit it, wasn't as good as all the hoopla. Not even close. Maybe I need a special lighter for it.

[oscarkat]

Originally Posted by Bishop

The Bagna Cauda mentioned above was always a favorite of my family's around the holidays.

Slowly sautee lots of chopped garlic in a mix of olive oil and butter. I like to use a fork to press/mash the pieces of garlic as they cook. I am talking about a whole stick of butter and one or two heads of garlic chopped. The mix will become thicker and nuttier as the garlic breaks down. Then put in a can of anchovie fillets in olive oil and mash those as well. Then add cream and lots of black pepper. Slowly simmer or serve in a fondue pot.

We would always stand around an electric skillet full of this magic concoction dipping into it with bread, cauliflower, bell pepper slices, celery, or anything else you want. I mean it is butter, garlic, olive oil, anchovies, and black pepper. It doesn't really matter what you dip into it, It will taste amazing.

I think I'll try making this tonight, I've never had it but it sounds absolutly amazing!!

[bluedogz]

Originally Posted by AndyG

I tried that but couldn't get it to fit right in the cigarette paper.

And when I lit it, wasn't as good as all the hoopla. Not even close. Maybe I need a special lighter for it.

Boy, gives a new meaning to "killer bud", doesn't it?