Garlicky Chard Stuffed Flank Steak | #NationalGarlicDay

I crave garlic the way some people crave chocolate, so every year when National Garlic Day rolls around, I try to make the most of it by sharing a particularly garlicky dish and inviting my friends to do the same. Since I made dessert last year, I thought I go with an entree this year.

Originally I'd planned on doing a twist on one of my all-time favorite dishes, chicken with 40 garlic cloves, using beef brisket. Switch out the herbs, use red wine instead of white wine...but alas, I couldn't get my hands on a brisket. I should have known I'd need to order it from the butcher in advance; Texas this is not. I didn't plan ahead, so my plans changed. Staring at the butcher case, I decided to go with flank steak since I can't even remember the last time I ate (let alone made) it. But I didn't want to do the same dish since it's a dish that's better when cooked slowly...and I didn't want overcooked, chewy flank steak.

So, I had some flank steak staring me down. I also had a big, beautiful bunch of rainbow chard in my crisper. Greens and garlic are a match made in heaven, so I decided that combining all three would give me a bang-on garlicky good meal. For one flank steak (I got a good 2 pounder), I used 10 fat cloves. It was odorific! My teenager was out that evening at a sporting event, and when he got home 5 hours after it was made, he said "ooooh, I smell garlic" the minute he walked in the door. Mission accomplished.

Black Garlic Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream #NationalGarlicDay

The day that I've been promising you for the past 4 or 5 years has finally arrived. The day that I share with you a big bowl of GARLIC ICE CREAM! I've made a few garlicky desserts in my day. One that I've mentioned, but never actually shared with you, Pineapple-Garlic Upside Down Cake (imagine roasted garlic cloves in place of the maraschino cherries). And then couple of years ago, I shared an Apple Spice Cake with Roasted Garlic and Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce.

I can't help it, I'm drawn to the unusual!

But not only the unusual, as pretty much anything with garlic is good in my book. My old standby and perennial favorite is Chicken with 40 Cloves. Garlic Soup in pretty much any form is also something that I can't get enough of. One of my favorite treats is topping a round of Brie with as many roasted garlic cloves as I can fit on top, and then sliding it into a hot oven until the brie is soft. Give me that, a loaf of crusty bread, and a bottle of wine...good lawd, call it a day.

Caramelized Garlic Tart {National Garlic Day}

My top three holidays: Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and National Garlic Day.  For real.   My kids even know when National Garlic Day is, because it's the first thing I write on my brand-spanking new calendar every year.  Okay, maybe it's not the first thing.  But that's only because I start in January and write things  "in order".  So, it's more like the fifth or sixth thing I write.  But it's there.

I spend a good portion of the year trying to decide what "THE" dish for that year will be.  I make plenty of garlicky things on a regular basis, but I'm always looking for something a little special for the day.  Just like I do for any other holiday.  I'm a little disappointed, because I semi-promised myself that this would be the year that I made garlic ice cream.  I think I may have even told you that last year.

Here we sit.  Ice Cream-less.  I guess I'm just going to have to make it as a treat for a non-holiday, because I absolutely cannot wait a whole 'nother year to make some.  The sad part is, I have several recipes patiently hanging out...waiting for me to try them.

But really, the lack of ice cream today has to be forgiven.  And (mostly) forgotten.  Because the tart you see here?  It deserves all of your attention.  It is a thing of glory (really, I'd sing songs about it).  There are three heads of garlic in there.  Three soft, caramelized, seductive heads of garlic.  There's also herbs.  And there's cheese.  Beautifully tangy goat cheese and creamy, nutty gouda.  I am enamored of it.

Ice cream, shmice cream.

Caramelized Garlic Tart

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 75 minutes (total)

Keywords: bake entree vegetarian nut-free garlic cheese herbs

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 1 sheet (half of a 17.3 oz. box) puff pastry, thawed
• 3 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
• 1 c. water
• slightly heaping 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
• sea salt
• 4 oz. chèvre (soft goat cheese)
• 4 oz. gouda
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. + 2 1/2 tsp. heavy cream
• 1/4 c. + 2 1/2 tsp. crème fraîche
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Set a 9.5-inch tart pan with a removable bottom on a baking sheet.

Roll out the puff pastry into a circle that will line the bottom of the pan and hang over by about 1/2-inch or so. Line the pan with the pastry. Prick the bottom a few times with the tines of a fork. Line the pastry with a circle of parchment, foil, or wax paper and fill it with pie weights (or dried beans or rice). Set in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Slide the baking tray with the tart shell on it into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lift out the liner and the weights and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the pastry turns a light, golden color. Leave the oven on.

You can start this part as soon as the pastry goes into the fridge, and continue on once it goes into the oven. Place the garlic cloves in a small saucepan and cover with water by at least an inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes. Drain and wipe the pan dry. Add the olive oil to the pan along with the blanched garlic over high heat and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Balsamic and the water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sugar, chopped rosemary and thyme, and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Continue to simmer at a quick bubble until the most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a caramely syrup, 10-15 minutes.

Crumble both cheeses (or you can shred the harder cheese, if you like) into the pastry shell. Spoon the garlic and its syrupy liquid over the cheese. Whisk the remaining ingredients together (with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper), and pour over and around the cheese and garlic, allowing the garlic and cheese to still show over the surface. You will use most of the filling, but may have a tablespoon or so that will not fit - no biggie, don't overfill the shell.

Slide into the oven, close the door, and lower the heat to 325° F. Bake for ~45 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top has started to turn golden in spots. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a bit, so that you can comfortably pick it up. Once you are able to handle it, lift the bottom from the ring and then use a long, flat spreader (or something like it) to slide the tart onto a serving plate. Garnish with a couple of fresh sprigs of thyme, if you like.

Serve warm or a room temperature. Store completely cooled tart in the fridge, wrapped tightly; reheat in a low oven until warmed through.

note:

If you don't have any crème fraîche, you can make a decent substitute by whisking about 1 1/2 teaspoons of buttermilk into 5 teaspoons of sour cream. I'm not saying it's an exact replica - but it works for me.

adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Powered by Recipage

Want more recipes featuring garlic? Here's a few I've posted in the past:

• Roasted Garlic-Bacon Dip
• The BEST Garlic Bread in the Whole Wide World. Seriously.
• Tomato Garlic Soup w/ Cheese Tortellini (and Simple Garlic Broth)
• Sopa de Ajo
• Apple Spice Cake w/ Roasted Garlic + Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce
• Chicken w/ 40 Cloves of Garlic
• Fried Eggs on Garlicky Fried Rice w/ Chile Vinegar
• Oaxacan-Style Peanuts w/ Chile & Garlic (Cacahuates Oaxaqueños con Chile y Ajo)

And since one can never have too much garlic, here are some more GARLICKY GOOD recipes from a few of my friends:

• Pickled Garlic Cloves from Kimchi Mom
• Cioppino from Noshing with the Nolands
• Garlic Lovers Pizza from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Grilled Chicken Salad w/ Garlic Confit from Comfy Cook
• Chicken w/ Secret Dipping Sauce from Cookistry
• Sausage Meatballs w/ Red Gravy from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Garlic Beef Enchiladas from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Spaghetti w/ Roasted Garlic and Oil from The View from Great Island
• Stir-Fried Green Beans w/ Pork & Garlic from Stirring the Pot
• Linguine con aglio e olio d'oliva from The Cooking Actress
• Garlic Salad from Blueberries and Blessings

HAPPY NATIONAL GARLIC DAY 2013!

I am sharing this post with IHCC theme: Get Back to your Roots!

Apple Spice Cake w/ Roasted Garlic + Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce {National Garlic Day 2012}

The day has arrived.  It is finally here.  The day when sing praises on high.  Praises to the stinkingest rose around.  Pungent and bold.  Mellow and sweet.  Garlic in all of its glory.  HOORAY GARLIC!  Are you with me?  Give me a G...

But anyhoo...while I share my love for garlic year-round, I really do like to give it the props it deserves on its very own day.  Happy National Garlic Day.  I'll admit that often I forget until the last minute.  I'm either scrambling the day before to make something and get it post-ready in time.  Or I'm smackin' myself in the head day-of and scouring my many drafts for something garlicky enough to qualify for an actual garlic day posting.  But last year?  I made a note.  And so now I've been looking at that reminder for an entire year. I don't think I'll be forgetting any more.

And I don't know what happened.  I knew...like absolutely KNEW...that I was making one of two things to share today. Either Roasted Garlic Ice Cream or Pineapple-Garlic Upside Down Cake (the first of which I've always wanted to make and the second I have made and always meant to share).  Yet, here I am without either.  And with two completely different things.  But I will share both of those one of these days.  And hopefully I won't wait a whole 'nother year to do so.  Goal summer: garlic ice cream.

But I don't want to detract from the beauty of the two garlicky goodies that I actually am sharing today.  The first is a beautifully rustic apple spice cake...but what makes it so unique is that it contains two whole roasted heads of garlic.  It's sweet and savory all at the same time.  It's not fancy - it's more along the lines of beautiful peasant-fare.  I'm fairly positive that you could eat a slice as a remedy to ward off an oncoming cold.  Or perhaps the mosquitoes before going out at night.  Or vampires for that matter.  The garlic is pleasant - but only if you're a garlic fan.  It is present.  And waving it's hands around in your face trying to be noticed.  The tart apples and oily nuts along with the spices are a fantastic foils for the antics of the garlic, though.  And I think that a cool, creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream suits it perfectly.

This is a fun cake to present in celebration of National Garlic Day...or when you just want to have a bit of fun with your guests.

The Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce, however?  It's captured my heart.  Golden, sweet, chewy cloves of garlic suspended in a thick, spoonable honey sauce that is tinged with hints of cinnamon and citrus?  Oh yeah.  It does tend to seize up a little when you drizzle it over your ice cream.  And stick in your teeth.  But I don't mind one little bit.  I just put my tongue to work.  It's the gift that keeps on giving.

But I think it is so much more than a sauce to top ice cream.  I want to get a tangy log of goat cheese and drape ribbons of this sauce over it and then set a pepper grinder loose over the whole thing.  It'd be enough to make your crackers dance in anticipation.  Or maybe warm a round of brie in the oven until it is gooey in the center?  Mmm hmmm.  Slather it with some of this sauce studded with fat, golden cloves of garlic.  And then use crisp apple slices to dig in and transport the whole glorious mess to my mouth.  That's happening.  Soon.

Apple Spice Cake w/ Roasted Garlic + Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 15 (plus time to roast garlic)

Cook Time: 55-75 minutes

Keywords: bake simmer condiment dessert vegetarian garlic honey apples spice National Garlic Day cake

Ingredients (serves 10-12)

cake

• 1½ c. + 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• grated zest & juice of 1 large lemon
• 2-3 tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped medium-fine
• 4 oz. unsalted butter, at room temp.
• ⅔ c. sugar
• flesh from 2 heads of roasted garlic
• 2 Tbs. brandy
• 1 large egg
• ½ c. milk
• ⅔ c. finely chopped pecans
• confectioners' sugar

sauce

• 1 c. honey
• 1 c. water, plus more as needed
• 10 plump garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 long strip of lemon peel (no white)
• 1 cinnamon stick

Instructions

Apple Spice Cake w/ Caramelized Garlic:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9" round cake pan very well.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together into a small bowl and set aside. Combine apples with lemon zest and lemon juice and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in garlic and brandy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add egg and beat until smooth.

Add flour mixture gradually, alternating with the milk, on low speed until just combined. Fold in the apples and pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Slide into preheated oven and bake for 55-75 minutes (check at the lowest time) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before turning cake out of pan. Flip back over (right side up) onto a serving plate. Sift confectioners' sugar over the top of the cake. Serve plain, with whipped cream or ice cream, or with Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce.

Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce (yield: ~1 c.):

Combine all of the ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let bubble slowly until water has evaporated and garlic is tender and golden, 30-45 minutes. If the water boils away before the garlic has caramelized, add 1 Tbs. of water at a time until garlic is ready.

Remove from heat and let cool. Discard lemon peel and cinnamon stick, if you wish. Keep the garlic cloves whole or mash them up a bit. Serve (and keep) at room temperature.

notes:

I'm not going to lie and tell you that you can't even taste the garlic. You totally can. The cake is a fabulous, rustic treat which you may want to serve for special occasions. I think maybe using a single head of roasted garlic instead of two may be just as good...and not quite so strong.

The honey-poached garlic sauce, however? Rockin'! Sweet and garlicky. Perfect for serving with desserts such as cake or ice cream or try serving it with fruit (think crisp apples or pears) and I'm thinking it would be amazing drizzled over a log of tangy goat cheese with a smattering of cracked black pepper over the whole thing. Or maybe with a wedge of brie...

both recipes adapted from Garlic Garlic Garlic

Powered by Recipage

So how will YOU be celebrating National Garlic Day this year?  And who wants to send me some Black Garlic?  I need to try some.  If you have a post up today in honor of National Garlic Day 2012, add a link back to this post and then send it my way (you can see details here).  Por favor!?  I'll be gathering up all of the gloriously garlic-loving posts and sharing them with everybody this weekend.  I want yours to be in the mix!

And if by chance you didn't get a chance to post for NGD on NGD this year, please feel free to link up any older garlicky posts in the linky on this post!  You can never really have to many garlic recipes.  That's what I always say.

I am also sharing this post with:

Roasting Garlic in preparation for National Garlic Day

It's almost that time again!  Although I celebrate the glory of garlic every single day of every single year - the "official" National Garlic Day is April 19.  I roasted a few heads today in anticipation of something really, REALLY good.  I'm not going to tell, though.  I want it to be a big, glorious, garlicky surprise on NGD.

How 'bout you?  Have you thought about what you're going to make/do/eat to celebrate the stinking rose?  Well, if not -- no worries.  There's still time.  Start searching out those glorious garlic recipes, tinctures, prose, and other inspiration and figure out how you want to celebrate!  And you know what?  I'd really love it if you'd drop by here to share your creation.  I've always meant to get a big garlicky gathering started for this day, and this is the year.  For all of the details (there's not many, actually), check out the bottom of this post.  But until then, please link up some of your older garlic posts so that perhaps others can find a new recipe to make this year!

I hope to see you wearing your garlic braids proud this year!  Until then...I'll share with you one of my favorite things.  One of the simplest, yet most additive things in the world.  Roasted Garlic.  Sure, there's a number of ways to do it, but this is the whole-head method. More on another day...

Roasted Garlic (whole heads)

by Heather Schmitt-González

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Keywords: roast condiment preserving garlic

Ingredients (4 heads)

• 4 whole heads garlic
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 Tbs. water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Slice the top of the heads of garlic, ~½" down. You just want the tips cut off and the "meat" exposed. Gently remove the outer papery skin from the sides of the heads. Set in a clay (or other ovenproof) dish, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and water. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for ~1 hour. Uncover and spoon any of the liquid from the bottom of the dish on top of the heads of garlic. Continue baking, uncovered, for another 15 minutes.

Will keep refrigerated for about one week.

notes:

This recipe can be easily halved, doubled, tripled, etc. If you have a lot of heads roasting at once, you may need to add another more cooking time. Check after 1 hour and if not golden and soft, cook another 15 minutes before spooning liquid over garlic.

Squeeze out and eat the soft garlic with a loaf of crusty bread. Scatter it on top of a round of brie and drizzle with olive oil before heating in the oven for a while. Use it in soup. Smoosh it between the skin and meat of a chicken. Use it as an unexpected twist in ice cream or cake. The possibilities are enless. I like eating it alone, too.

Some people like to season with salt and pepper before roasting. If you want to...knock yourself out. I've also added a bit of white wine vinegar while roasting. I didn't notice any difference in the end product, though. Throw some fresh thyme sprigs (or other herbs) in the pan, if you like.

Powered by Recipage

"Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers" image by Les Blank (Chez Panisse Garlic Festival 1980)

How to participate in National Garlic Day (NGD) 2012:

   1. Write a post celebrating/sharing GARLIC.  (Anything goes - writing and recipe? Yes!  Photos only? Of course!  An ode to garlic...or perhaps a sonnet? Bring it on!  An informational post about the health benefits of garlic?  Indeed!)

    2. Post it on your blog with a link back to THIS post on Thursday, April 19th (that's NGD!).  Use of the logo is optional, but always appreciated.

    3. Email your entries to me at: girlichef @ yahoo . com and include:
                     ~Your name
                     ~The name of your blog
                     ~Link to the post you're submitting
                     ~Attach a photo of any size (or I will just pull one if you don't feel like attaching)
                     ~Indicate "National Garlic Day 2012 submission" in the subject line

    4. Please have all submissions in by midnight wherever you are on April 19th. Anybody is welcome to submit, even if you're a different country.

*I will round up all of the Garlicky posts that you submit a couple of days or so following this deadline.*


<a href="http://www.girlichef.com/2012/04/roasting-garlic-in-preparation-for.html"target="_blank"><img alt="National Garlic Day 2012 Button" height="260" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6160/6207066235_6ee39e18a3_o.jpg" width="130" /></a>

*Update 4/20/12: Well, the garlicky fun didn't take off as well as I'd hoped.  Boo.  I didn't really get enough submissions to fill a round-up, so instead I thought I would just add the 4 awesome ones I did receive to this post.  Thanks so much to Tina, Karen, and Danielle for joining me in honoring garlic on its day.  Hopefully next year we can drum up some more participants!  But until then...

Tina from Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor did an awesome post filled with fun informational tidbits about garlic, garlic quotes, and food infused with garlic such as Crispy Chicken Thighs with Buttery Dutch Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, and Garlic.  So much fun!

Karen from Karen Cooks definitely knows the way to my heart...roasty toasty grilled garlic combined with creamy avocado and fresh, sweet pineapple.  Oh yeah.  That's the way.  I would steal off with this bowl of Grilled Garlic & Pineapple Guacamole and finish it all by myself.  Just sayin'...

You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be trying this amazing Garlic Basil Infused Vodka that Danielle from Cooking for my Peace of Mind nurtured for 4 days before NGD in order to celebrate.  And then I'll mix myself up one of the pungent Vampire's Hell Day Martini's that she made and top it off with a big, fat garlic-stuffed olive.  Be warned vampires, be warned.

And I decided I needed - yes needed - to use garlic in a dessert.  I wanted to finish on a gloriously garlicky note.  Mission accomplished with this rustic and beautiful Apple Spice Cake w/ Roasted Garlic topped off with an addictive Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce.  Woot!

Thanks again ladies for your amazing garlic-laden posts - you totally rock!

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:

Garlic Chili Shrimp for National Garlic Day!!

It's here again!! That day I sooooo love to celebrate....a day to honor one of my favorite things in the whole wide world....GARLIC!  Ah, that sweet, earthy perfume.  Remember, you're talkin' to the girl who adores the smell of garlic on her fingers.  A girl whose next tattoo (currently in the design process) is going to be of garlic.  Really.  Roast it, smash it, shmear it, love it!  If you forgot...or perhaps didn't realize that today was one of the bestest holidays of them all...here's a quickie to set the mood.  Have you tried Roland Garlic Chili Sauce before?  Wowza...it's so good! Spicy and deliciously pungeant... use it to whip up a tasty lunch, that's what I did.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp

by girlichef

shrimp- raw p&d, tail on (or off) or alternately use cooked shrimp

garlic- minced

green onions- sliced thin

ginger- minced

Roland Garlic Chili Sauce

Olive Oil

Okay, there's not really a set quantity here... simply add a little olive oil to coat the bottom of a hot pan.  Throw in the garlic, green onions and shrimp and sauté quickly, until shrimp is just done.  Stir in Garlic Chili Sauce to taste.  Serve hot over a bed of rice. 

Couldn't be much simpler than that, huh? 

I think I may have to go make a quick batch of the Golden Garlic Soup w/ Fideos that I celebrated with last year.....

Here's some delicious guides to Nirvana ;)

Golden Garlic Soup w/ Fideos {National Garlic Day}

Today is National Garlic Day! Garlic is one of my favorite things. I said it. I love garlic. I even ate it before I was married. A lot of it. Guess I only wanted to attract the kind of guy who likes garlic, himself. Mission accomplished...tee hee. And you how most people hate walking around with the smell of garlic on their hands? I actually like that. Weirdo, huh? It's even better if you've chopped up some lime &/or some ginger along with the garlic....ah, it's like perfume to me. I wanted to all smart and give you a big tutorial on the many uses and benefits of garlic; then I realized how much I have to get done today and I didn't prepare in advance, so I'm just going to show you some fun garlic-lovers cookbooks and share a new soup recipe I came up with this morning.

Golden Garlic Soup w/ Fideos

bfrom the kitchen of girlichef

Olive Oil

onions, small- 3 sliced fairly thin

garlic cloves, peeled- 10 sliced thin

bay leaves, fresh- 2

thyme, fresh- few sprigs

3 1/2 oz. fideo (or broken up vermicelli)

Chicken/Beef/Veg Stock or Broth (your choice or a mixture)- 1 1/2 quarts

salt & pepper- to taste

for garnish:

queso fresco, cut into small cubes

crushed, dried chiles (I used chile de arbol, chopped up in spice grinder)

Put a pot on over medium heat. Add a few swirls of olive oil. Add your sliced onions, stirring occasionally, until golden.

While onions are cooking, peel your garlic.

Slice them up very thin, either by hand or in one of these nifty little mini-mandolin type slicers (love this!).

Add to pot once onions are golden. Continue to cook and stir around a bit, until garlic gets soft and golden. Add your herbs and your fideos. Stir them around for a couple of minutes to toast them.

Add the broth/stock of your choice and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes or so, until fideos are al dente.

Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Ladle into bowls and garnish with queso fresco and crushed chiles.

This soup is a garlic-lover's dream! Golden, caramelized, earthy garlic and onions along with the underlying heat from the sprinkling of chiles and the salty, just-meltiness (I know, not a word) of the cheese combine so beautifully...I think I'll go have another bowl of it once I'm finished here.

So, Happy Garlic Day to all....vampires and bugs be warned!

I'm also going to try to send this over to Deb for entry in Souper Sundays, even though I'm pretty sure I'm late and won't make it into today's roundup.