Toasted Garlic

“Shallots are for babies; Onions are for men; garlic is for heroes.”>>>unknown

Don’t you just love garlic?? Toasted garlic is a condiment that is used on everything from the Filipino dish Pancit, to the wonderful and addicting bread dipping oil at Johnny Carino’s. It’s flavorful, mild and can literally be used atop of almost any dish.

Make this easy condiment, let cool, place in an air tight container, and use it anytime you want to add great flavor!

Ingredients

8 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Peel and mince the garlic. In a medium pan, warm the olive oil on medium-low heat. Once heated, add the garlic. Cook on med-low heat, stirring frequently until it reaches a golden color. Do not put the heat any higher, and make sure you stir it frequently,as the garlic can burn very easily. Once the garlic reaches the color you desire, remove and drain on a paper towel.
Use this to top anything from salad, pasta, asian dishes to your favorite take out pizza.
Place any extra in an air tight contanier and keep in the fridge.

 

Filipino Garlic Rice

Growing up with a southern mom, we ate rice every night.  Except of course if we had lasagna or something like that.  When we moved to the Philippines, we had a housekeeper named Ming, and she quickly took over the duties of cooking all our family meals.  And when she found out that one of our staples was rice with practically every meal, that very night she made us Garlic Rice as our side.  It was awesome! 

When we moved back to the states, we quickly went back to the normal white rice that we were previously used to.  And we learned to love it again. 

But when I became friends with a very nice elderly Filipino woman a few years ago…I quickly asked her if she knew how to make Garlic Rice.  Well, after she looked at me like I had 3 heads, she said “Of course I do!” 

Yes.  I felt stupid. 

Anyway, there are 2 things that you need to make sure of when making this dish. 

1. Don’t let the garlic burn.  Watch it very closely.  Please.  If by chance it does burn, you should obviously discard the garlic, but also go the extra step and wash out your pan.  Don’t just wipe it out, because the burned garlic taste will probably still be there.

2 .Use left over, day old rice.  Or at least make it a day ahead.  This lets the rice become completely dry.  If you try to make the rice at the time you make the meal, it will turn out mushy.

This is another meal that Filipinos eat any time of the day.  It’s very popular for breakfast, using the leftover rice from last night’s meal.  It’s often served with one of the many Filipino sausages on the side, dried fish, beef, pork, pickled veggies….it goes on and on.

This is a great change from your basic side of white rice, mashed potatoes, or whatever starch you include with your meals.

Ingredients

 1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp chopped garlic

4 cups cooked white rice

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and  cook and stir until the garlic turns golden.

Add the cooked rice, salt and pepper. Stir until the rice is heated through.

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Gambas al Ajillo

Gambas al Ajillo is one of the most common tapas in spanish cooking.  This garlic shrimp recipe is simple, quick, and the oil it is cooked in is absolutely mind blowing!!  The only way to eat this is with french bread to soak up some of the delicious oil, and a glass of white wine (or beer).

Be careful not to throw out the oil when you’re done cooking the shrimp!  It’s to be enjoyed with the shrimp, it’s not just used for the cooking process!!

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced if you like

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 tsp spanish paprika

3 tbsp white wine

4 tbsp flat leaf parsley

salt, to taste

a loaf of crusty french bread

Directions

 

In a large skillet, heat the oil to medium low.  Once it’s reached the desired heat, add the garlic and let it steep for about 15 minutes.  After the 15 minutes has passed, increase the heat to medium (not too hot, please don’t burn the garlic )

Once the oil is up to temperature, add the shrimp, red pepper flakes and paprika.  Toss the shrimp to coat and cook evenly, then add the wine and parsley.  Stir to incorporate.  Remove from heat as soon as the shrimp turn pink and curl.

Serve straight from the pan, or transfer the dish (including the oil) to a wide shallow bowl. 

Enjoy your garlic shrimp with the french bread for sopping up the oil.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is the basic recipe for Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  Pair with Pot Roast, Fried Chicken…and about a million other meals.

Serves 8

Ingredients

5-6 cloves roasted garlic, directions below

Olive oil

2 lbs potatoes

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 stick butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Place 5-6 cloves of garlic in the middle of a square of tin foil and drizzle liberally with olive oil.  Close the foil to make a pouch.  Roast in the oven for approx 15-20 minutes.  Allow the garlic to cool then cut off the tips and squeeze out onto a plate and mash.

Peel and quarter the potatoes and put them in a large pot with 1 tablespoon of salt.  Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Boil uncovered until the potatoes are fork tender.  They should slide off the fork when pierced.  This takes approx.  15-20 minutes.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter then add the cream, roasted garlic, salt and pepper and whisk together until combined.  Bring to a low simmer and remove from heat.  Cover to keep warm.

When the potatoes are done (don’t turn off the heat), drain them and return them to the pot.  Put back on the heat for about 1 minute to make sure the potatoes are completely dry.  Now, you can either leave them in the pot, add the cream mixture and mash to your desired consistency, or put the potatoes in a food processor with the cream, and blend.  After all ingredients are incorporated, add the cheddar if desired, and mix just long enough to blend.

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Steamed Mussels (Frenchy Style) :-)

This is an easy, tasty and pretty popular way to steam mussels. I love this recipe!!

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 lb live mussels
2 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine (please don’t use cooking wine)
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Scrub and debeard the mussels.
The shells should be closed. If any shells are open, let it sit for a few minutes, it should close.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a large, wide-bottomed pot. Saute the shallot until it is soft but not browned. Add the garlic cloves.
Add the white wine, and bring it to a boil. Add the mussels.

Cover the pot and let the mussels steam for 4-7 minutes. Most of the mussels should be open after the first couple minutes. You want them all open, but some will do this faster than others.

As soon as most of the mussels are open, turn off the heat and cover for about 5 minutes

Disgard of any mussels that did not open.

Serve with crusty bread.

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