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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Chicken with 40 {GARLIC} Cloves ...Happy National Garlic Day!

Yup, one of my favorite celebrations of the year is today.  I mean, most of you know that I already celebrate the stinking rose almost daily, but any excuse to shout it loud and proud. I love garlic!  Yee-Haw!  Okay, sorry.  This is a dish that I cannot believe I haven't posted before today.  It was one of the first things I made regularly when I first went out and lived "on my own"...so I've been making it in some form or another for at least 12 or 13 years.  And yet, this is its first appearance here.  I'd thought about it before, but didn't stop to take photos or record exact-ish amounts before now.  Prompted by my sister asking me for the recipe, I decided what better day to share this dish packed with earthy, pungent, beautifully stinky and delicious roasted garlic than National Garlic Day!?  I know that there are many versions of this floating around out there...and if you don't try this one...try another one.  I'm pretty sure that with 40 cloves of garlic in one dish, you can't go wrong.  And while roasting the garlic mellows it, I'm gonna admit it still seeps from every pore on your body for a day or two afterwards.  If you eat a bunch of the cloves, that is.  And I do.  And I don't care...because hubby does, too.  But I thought I'd warn you.  You know, in case you had an important job interview or a long car ride with others (who didn't partake in the festivities) or a hot date or something.  Save this dish for when those things are over.  Or make it for your date and eat it together.  Anyhoo...
Chicken with 40 {GARLIC} Cloves
from the kitchen of girlichef
serves ~4

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pcs. (or ~2½-3 lbs. chicken, already in pieces)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
40 garlic cloves, UNpeeled
½ c. white wine
small handful fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 c. chicken stock or broth
1½ Tbs. butter, at room temp.
In a large, wide, deep skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat.  Pat the chicken dry with some paper towels, season all over with salt and pepper and add to pan.  Do this in batches, if necessary.  You don't want to crowd the pan...you want a good, golden color on the chicken.  Turn chicken over when golden on the first side and repeat on the second side.  Carefully pour almost all of the fat from the pan, leaving about a tablespoon or so.

Add the garlic cloves to the spaces in between the chicken pieces, along with the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.  Pour in the wine, then cover tightly and reduce the heat to low.  Simmer very gently for ~30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove chicken and garlic cloves to a serving platter.  Discard thyme stems and bay leaves.  Turn the heat up to high and pour in the chicken stock.  Reduce by half (you should have just over a cup left).  Remove from heat and stir in the butter.  

Spoon the sauce over the chicken and garlic.
My favorite way to eat this is with a loaf of crusty bread to shmear the garlic all over.  Simply pop it from the skin with your fingers onto the bread.  Smoosh it all together and eat with the chicken.  A simple salad dressed with vinaigrette goes well with it, also.  Oh, and don't forget to bring the rest of that bottle of wine to the table.  This is one of my favorite meals of all time.

I have also made this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Make it the same way as above, but start checking the doneness of the chicken after 15 minutes or so...chicken cooks quicker when it's off the bone...and you don't want it to dry out.  Or use all thighs and/or legs.  Choose your favorite pieces...it'll taste amazing no matter what!

How will you be celebrating National Garlic Day?  And please don't tell me you're not celebrating it.  Lie to me, if necessary.  Peace, love, and garlic...

I am sharing this post with:
tnsc HearthandSoulBadge-1 Tasty Tuesdays 33 shades of green delectabletuesday 5569196101_967c9f3b57_o PeppersTuesdaysTastyTidbits TastyTuesdayBB tastytuesdayfortheloveofblogs

Would you like to comment?

  1. i didn't know there was such a thing as national garlic day! where has it been all my life!

    this is a classic dish that i'm glad you shared. i've made it for years as well and somehow never though to post it. yours looks absolutely divine!

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  2. Theres a place called Gilroy here in CA where they have a garlic festival. I have heard of some wacky creations being served up there including garlic ice cream, you would love it..

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  3. new to this garlic day ... so inviting..

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  4. Never heard of a national garlic day. I love garlic too and it goes so well with chicken. Happy Garlic Day!
    Cheers

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  5. Never know about this garlic day, such a flavourful chicken dish..

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  6. Te ha quedado fantastico el plato, saludos.

    Saludos

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  7. Lovely recipe! I've always wanted to try this. Looks awesome!

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  8. Happy Garlic Day!

    I have been meaning to try this recipe for ages! I'd never heard of it until i saw a version in Nigella's Kitchen and it's been on the list ever since!

    It looks and sounds incredible, thanks for sharing :)

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  9. That dish looks fabulous!

    I didn't know it was National Garlic Day today. I made pasta with garlic and oil (and broccoli) for dinner last night!

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  10. Happy national garlic day. This dish is "stinking"!!!

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  11. This looks delicious, and besides smooshing food is fun!

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  12. Me too!! And this is one of my favorite dishes ever!

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  13. Foodness Gracious...YES! I leave myself a post-it with the date every year (July 29-31 this year) in hopes that someday I may be able to make it over 2,000 just to get there. And I've actually made garlic ice cream before and considered posting it today...and YUP, I DO love it ;) Gilroy or BUST!

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  14. I'm so glad you posted this recipe. I had it years ago, don't know what happened to it, and had forgotten all about it. Made it once and it ws DEElicious. Happy Garlic Day Heather.

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  15. National garlic day?? Poor vampires, no feeding any time soon :)

    These 2 last recipes, look great, I only now started eating garling, but only roasted, I cant stand it raw.

    Heather, no luck with the bread so far... nothing happens, I dont know if it is not hot enough here, I cant get it to ferment. (is this the word?)... I dont know what to do...

    hugshugs

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  16. Oh my goodness!! This brings me back to my culinary school days!! This was one of the first things we made!!

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  17. Wow what a perfect recipe for a garlic lover like me. Awesome shots too, everything looks amazing!!

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  18. National Garlic Day! What a holiday. Who knew? I found a recipe recently that looked a lot like yours but was cooked in the crock pot instead of the oven. Have you tried that before?

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  19. Emily...no, I've never tried it in the crockpot, but I bet it'd be delish! As long as there was no skin...cuz floppy skin makes me gag a little, but... ;)

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  20. I have been meaning to try this recipe for some time. Your photos of it made my mouth water. I'll wait until hubby gets back from his ski trip and I have a 2 days off work!One quick question tho. Why put the garlic cloves in unpeeled?

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  21. France, if you put them in peeled, they will dissolve into the juices. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But the peel holds that wonderful goodness inside and allows you to squeeze at your own discretion. Some people {ahem} prefer more, while some people {I know you're out there} prefer less. =)

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  22. Given my fellow garlic-lover status I can't believe I've never made this! Definitely the perfect way to ring in national garlic day in style.

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  23. Looks grand, Heather - I love this dish and think I almost cleebrate National Garlic Day every day.

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  24. I didn't know that today is national garlic day. I am making garlic bread. this chicken sounds delicious.

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  25. I love garlic! Happy Garlic Day to you!!

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  26. Oh wow! I love me some garlic, and would love to try this someday!

    I'm new to your blog! I found you through FTLOB and I can't wait to read more! Feel free to check out my blog!

    Simply Kate

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  27. The name of the dish totally caught my attention! It looks super yummy! and fantastic! Thanks for sharing with Hearth and Soul Hop. Please visit next week too to share your recipe :)

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  28. OMG! Heather I love love love this recipe!!!

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  29. i am drooling like crazy thinking about this dish. i love the garlic-bread idea. oh my gosh, i love garlic!

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  30. Well YEEHAW...I have a lot to celebrate today. National Garlic Day shares my hubby's bday and our anniversary:) Can you believe that 40 cloves is a recipe I've never made? Hmmm...maybe Jamie has a recipe for it. I'll have to check because I definitely have to squeeze this recipe in somewhere.

    I'll take mine with extra cloves;-)

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  31. so, what you are saying is that EVERY day isn't national garlic day? don't tell me that!! i love garlic and your recipe for 40 clove chicken looks simply divine. we are having guests up at the cabin this week and i think this might be the perfect dinner to serve! thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club...and double thank you for making a recipe that doesn't require peeled garlic!

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  32. Hi Heather!
    You have done National Garlic Day proud!!! I may be in Idaho but be assured we celebrated tonight with pork studded garlic big time!!!

    I remember the first time I ever made James Beard's 40 cloves recipe and it was delicious. I must try it your way. Yours looks "stinking" good!!!

    Thank you so much for sharing...

    P.S. I've been trying to get to Gilroy for ever!!! Some day...

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  33. You should be voted the queen of National Garlic Day with this dish. Yum! Bring on the bread and a glass of wine (or three!) ;-)

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  34. So what I'm wondering is if I don't currently have a hot date, and I eat this dish, would I then find a hot date? Sort of like how washing your car makes it rain? I'm not above using garlic hoodoo ;)

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  35. Ok....so I didn't know National Garlic Day existed but since I put it in everything, I am so celebrating the day! Woohoo! 40 cloves? Wow!

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  36. I am happy to celebrate garlic everyday :) Love it!

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  37. I MISSED GARLIC DAY???? Bummer...but, really, at hour house it is always garlic day. I think Ill do 60 cloves!! :)

    This would be perfect for my Foodie Friday linky party - stop by this week and link up!

    If you have a sec, feel free to pop over now to enter my GIVEAWAY!

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  38. I think I celebrate garlic pretty much every day :) This looks amazing!

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  39. MMM, MMM, and MMM - I can't imagine a world without garlic. It would be like a lion without a mane - a flower without a scent, a - well, you get the picture. What a fabulous recipe!

    Thanks for sharing with Hearth and Soul ;)

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  40. Just scrolling through doing some catch up - this one is definitely going on my make soon list too!

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