Oh, garlic, how I love thee. Let me count the ways: Whole, sliced, chopped, diced, minced, grated, sautéed, fried, simmered, roasted, smashed etc. etc. etc. This list could go on for days and days about my never-ending love for the ultimate root vegetable known as garlic.
I mean, what else is there to say that no one else has said before? Garlic is the epitome of the ultimate flavor-enhancer for every dish. It does what bacon does for a lot of dishes: makes it 10x better. Soup boring? Throw in some garlic. Marinara bland? Throw in some garlic. Mayo not giving you that edge? Throw in some garlic. Seriously, just try throwing garlic into anything and tell me it does not taste amazing afterwards. I'll wait, I'm patient........GAH, RIGHT!? ISN'T GARLIC FANTASTIC!?
If I had to estimate how much garlic I have used throughout my years of cooking, I think it's safe for me to say that I'd be the eliminator of the vampire race by this point. 95% of dishes I make require garlic because it makes them that much better. I mean, come on, you think anyone is going to just go for the regular piece of bread with butter and think it's incredible? While it is really good, throwing garlic in it though makes it perfect. The sweet aroma of sharpness infusing into that soft butter, taking every bit of garlic it can take, then spread that on some damn good crusty bread, you'll feel lost in translation.
I'm really not joking when I say I use a lot of garlic. For me, I feel like I never have enough. I once bought a panty-hose full of garlic, and I don't think that even lasted a week. That is how much I love it and use it. Especially when I'm ready to make a nice marinara sauce or tomato soup, the part I look forward to the most is when the butter or olive oil get in contact with the garlic, and causes my kitchen to smell like Absolute heaven. I don't know what chemical it is that causes that aroma to happen, but I'd rather not question it because it is just too good to even question how something that amazing can happen.
I'll admit it, I was a big wuss when it came to prepping garlic. I'd always use cheats such as buying pre-chopped garlic, when I finally realized I couldn't taste any of that crap when I used it. But once I bettered my knife skills, I couldn't wait to get my knife to work on chopping it up. The thought of mincing it to get those garlic juices perfuming into my nostrils would be the highlight of my day. I wouldn't care if it made my fingers smell a biteen funky because I wasn't trying to impress anyone. Then again, how is garlic not impressive already? Now if you're still not comfortable chopping your own garlic up, do not worry one bit. I recently discovered there is a way to prepare minced garlic without you having to do a lot of work. Got a lemon-zester? Great! Take a whole garlic clove (peeled, of course), and just grate it so you get a finely minced garlic. Not only is it easier than chopping it, but even better because once it's grated, you release more of those hidden garlic juices inside to get a more pungent garlic flavor. You're welcome, world.
One of my favorite things to do with garlic is roast it. Ever have roasted garlic? No? Why not? It's the most unbelievable thing you can do with garlic! And it's not complicated to do at all. All you do is take 3 bulbs of garlic, cut off the tops but making sure the garlic stays in contact, drizzle some olive oil, and sprinkle some salt and pepper on the top, and let those babies roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. While it's all roasting, your whole house is going to smell like something Febreeze should be doing for their next scented sprays. Gah, wouldn't that make a great commercial? Blindfold me, place me in a room full of garbage, but spray that whole place with roasted garlic Febreeze, and I won't care where I'm sitting at.
Recently, I've figured out how to properly make garlic-infused olive oil. What I did in the past was just place a few smashed garlic cloves and cover it with olive oil thinking that would do the trick. I found out it was no bueno because I couldn't even taste the garlic. Then I found out how to properly do so: Simmer that garlic in the olive oil. What I do is take one of my squeeze bottles, pour the olive oil into it, then pour that into a saucepan (that way you don't have to measure it out the complicated way). Then I throw in about 5-12 garlic cloves into the sauce pan with the olive oil, and let that simmer until the garlic is golden brown and smells amazing. By the way, once you're done straining those garlic cloves out, do NOT throw those away. Those are still very helpful. Besides, after letting them simmer, they form such a freaking ridiculous sweet smell to them, you'll be happy you went through the work of making your own oil. Use it for aiolis, dips, even ice cream (yes, garlic ice cream is a real thing, research that).
This post shouldn't be news to the lot of people, but oh, one of my absolute favorite things to talk about is garlic. Garlic is so good, it's even to have said that it can help you live longer. Yeah, who'd have thought one of the most amazing vegetables on the planet could help you live longer than you thought? Garlic, thank you for your presence not only in the culinary world, but the world itself. We don't care how many breath mints it takes for us to get rid of your stench or how many bars of soap we go through to get you off our fingers, we thank you for everything you have given us. Now if only we can find a way to make you a cologne...
PS: Apparently there is such a thing as black garlic, which is a form of fermented garlic with a ton of nutrients inside. While regular garlic may help you live longer, I've read that black garlic can make you immortal...