Ever watch Giada on tv? And how she takes her little fist and smacks it hard on a knife with garlic under it, to break up the garlic and release the paper? (If you don’t know the name, you won’t know the game).
YES CHEF!
Well, there’s more than one way to skin a cat!
Take two bowls (silver bowls if you have them), garlic in one, the second as a cover and closed shake the garlic in the bowls. They magically peel themselves.
I learned that at a party a couple of weeks ago. It’s amazing what perfect strangers tell you, when they hear you are a Chef! lol
YOU’RE ON A ‘PEELING GARLIC’ KICK CHEF?
Well…. um, actually yes! I was at my daughters yesterday for dinner and my soon to be son in law, who is really smart and knows a lot about nutrition (so I listen when he talks) asked: “Have you ever peeled garlic by its’ tail”?
Whooot? I didn’t even know garlic has a tail. Wanna see?
Isn’t that amazing? Out of focus but you can still see the paper tail. He showed me how to peel it effortlessly. You twist the tail off and between your fingers gently rock the garlic. The skin comes right off! Try it! I was absolutely flabbergasted by this!
This morning I woke up thinking about it and sat down at the breakfast table also remembering the Paul Simon song ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ and wrote this to that tune:
Give it a smack Jack
Use the ‘twirl the tail’, Stan
Smack it with a knife Roy
Just listen to Me
You can eat it on a Bus Gus
We don’t need to discuss much
Health is the Key Lee
So set yourself free
The Huffington Post ran an article quoting Peter McClusky, founder of the Toronto Garlic Festival: “Research shows that garlic is responsible for lipid-lowering, anti-blood coagulation, anti-hypertension, anti-cancer, antioxidant and anti-microbial effects.”
So there you have it! It’s time to add garlic to everything you can! Now, eating garlic raw is both a good and bad thing. The next day? It comes through your pores and you smell awful! So there are several ways to either lightly cook or full on roast garlic.
Please realize that the more you cook anything, the less value it has. (My money is on ‘into your veggies on the stove top last minute).
You can roast your garlic for a sweet spreadable appetizer on baguette (just take the bulb into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on how hot your oven is), you can smack it under a knife and mince it, you can use a hand held mincer, remembering the more times you cut garlic the sharper it becomes, or just slice it into what’s on the stove top. But also remember this: garlic is always the last thing to add. It burns easily and turns bitter, so last 5 minutes low and slow is the way to go! lol
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian