The Magnificent Magic of the Garlic Bulb

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Garlic is a magical bulb. Raw, it can bring tears to your eyes, seasoning salsa and dips with ferocity and roasted, it’s almost caramel-like, sweet and smooth, perfect on toasted French bread or croutons. Garlic has health benefits as well, one of which is the ability to help maintain a healthy cholesterol level. You can get it in gel tablet form, but where’s the fun in that? Ah garlic!!

Gilroy, California is one town that understands the beauty and brilliance of Garlic. Every year, the Garlic Capital of the World holds the Gilroy Garlic Festival. It’s magnificent. Will Rogers once called Gilroy “the only town in America where you can marinate a steak by hanging it on the clothesline.” And Gilroy, bless them, has cookbooks containing award winning recipes from past festivals. I’d like to share two of them with Mad Mike’s readers.

The first recipe, created by Helen McGlone of Roseville, California, won a Prize for Best Recipe Using Most Garlic in 1982. It’s simple, and trust me when I tell you, it’s fantastic. I’ve made it, cutting the recipe in half and saving the rest for leftovers. The original recipe makes 20 servings, and halving it is simple. Or make 20 servings and eat until you burst. It’s worth it.

The second recipe is nothing you’d think of as containing garlic-chocolate chip cookies. But again, they’re fantastic. By boiling it and then soaking it real maple syrup, the garlic takes on a sweet, almost nutty, caramel taste, which works perfectly in a cookie recipe. I could share the recipe a few friends and I came up with in A la Carte class, garlic avocado ice cream, but that’s more of a summer dish.

101 Garlic Chicken

Preheat oven to 350.

10 whole chicken breasts, split, boned and skinned
Salt and pepper
2 cups champagne
101 unpeeled cloves fresh garlic

Place chicken in an un-greased baking pan, 12 x 16 or 18 inches. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour champagne over. Place garlic cloves around and between chicken breasts. Cover with foil and bake for 1 ½ hours at 350. Remove chicken to large platter and place garlic around the sides. The garlic is deliciously sweet, and guests are encouraged to just suck it right out of the skin.

Garlic Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 375.

10 cloves fresh garlic
Boiling Water
½ cup real maple syrup
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
2 ¼ cups chocolate chips
½ chopped nuts
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda

Drop cloves into boiling water for about 5 minutes, until tender. Peel and chop garlic and soak in maple syrup for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cream butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Combine flour, baking soda and salt and add to cream mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drain garlic and add to cookie batter, blending well. (I used a heavy wooden spoon so the chips keep their shape.) Drop cookie batter by tablespoon onto un-greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Use parchment paper if you can, again un-greased. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven, remove cookies from pan and cool on baking racks. Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Do you have a favorite garlic recipe? Are you going to try one of Gilroy’s winning ideas? Let us know here, at Mad Mike’s America!

Thanks to The Garlic Lovers’ Cookbook, Volume 2, for recipes and information in this article.

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