What’s that smell? Now if you were here you would undoubtedly recognize this awesome odor as garlic. Like me, this smell might bring you back to your grandmother’s house where...

she would cook sauce for days. You could smell it outside, on your clothing, and if you eat enough garlic it will come out of your pores.   

I use garlic in almost every dish I cook and there are some kitchen gurus who will go as far as to use it in savory deserts. There are three ways I use garlic; raw, sautéed and roasted. Each tastes differently and has unique qualities that you can fit into your needs. 

Raw garlic is the simplest use of the all, but still needs to be prepared. If you were to just throw garlic in a dish it would be a little bitter, so you have to mash it with some salt. I do this either with that flat of my knife or a mortar and pestle. That’s all there is to it.

Sautéed garlic is probably the most popular and pretty basic. Just chop your garlic and add it to a sauté pan with some fat. Make sure to lightly brown it or the garlic will burn or turn bitter if overcooked. I’m sure you’ve done this or at least have seen it.

Roasted garlic is by far my favorite way to use garlic. Roasting turns the garlic into a paste and gives it a more mild and sweet flavor. There are quite few methods to accomplish this but I’ll give the fool proof method. First take the whole head of garlic and chop off the pointed end. Then wrap the head of garlic except for the open end you just cut. Pour olive oil and some salt and pepper over the opening and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. When it is done the garlic will have turned brown, to use just squeeze out the paste.

Hope this helps.
Chef  Riggio

Roasted Garlic Butter:
1 tbsp roasted garlic
1 stick of butter
Oregano, Basil, Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt the butter then add everything else.  You can store this in the refrigerator and use for croutons, garlic bread or whatever else you desire.