i am a BIG fan of garlic. i won’t deny it. when i cook with garlic and i still have that smell under my finger nails, i love it. there are very few things that i don’t add more than the recommended amount of garlic. i think you are getting the picture. i’m into garlic.

but one of the best ways to eat garlic, is roasted. roasting garlic cuts out that spicy taste you get from raw garlic and just gives you a smooth, deep, garlic flavor. there are tons of great uses for roasted garlic, but here is one of my favorites!

roasted garlic butter

serves: 2 cups butter

total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

ingredients: 1 head of garlic. 2 cups of room temperature butter. 1 tsp olive oil. .5 tsp kosher salt. aluminum foil. whisk.

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. while your oven heats, chop the top off of your head of garlic and place the garlic in the middle of a square of aluminum foil. drizzle the garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt.

wrap the garlic up in the foil till it looks like you might toss it out.

then roast it in the oven for 50-60 minutes until completely soft in the middle. pull your garlic out and allow it to cool to room temperature. now that your garlic is roasted it should be a very mushy consistency.

when you squeeze the uncut bottom of the head of garlic, the individual cloves should just squeeze right out the cut open tops.

once in the butter, season with the remaining salt and whisk well until all the garlic is combined into the butter. about 30 seconds.

serve spread on some of your favorite fresh bread or store on hand for roasting chickens, potatoes, or to use for your morning eggs.

xo, a

roasted garlic butter

serves: 2 cups butter

total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

ingredients: 1 head of garlic. 2 cups of room temperature butter. 1 tsp olive oil. .5 tsp kosher salt. aluminum foil. whisk.

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. while your oven heats, chop the top off of your head of garlic and place the garlic in the middle of a square of aluminum foil. drizzle the garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt. wrap the garlic up in the foil till it looks like you might toss it out. then roast it in the oven for 50-60 minutes until completely soft in the middle. pull your garlic out and allow it to cool to room temperature. now that your garlic is roasted it should be a very mushy consistency. when you squeeze the uncut bottom of the head of garlic, the individual cloves should just squeeze right out the cut open tops. once in the butter, season with the remaining salt and whisk well until all the garlic is combined into the butter. about 30 seconds. serve spread on some of your favorite fresh bread or store on hand for roasting chickens, potatoes, or to use for your morning eggs.

well, well, well. 

look who finally made time to share some tips and tricks. ME!

things over here at newfoodtuesdayz have really heated up. after two hears of grinding and struggling and very little sleeping, my head is finally above water and i have hired some help. finally, i can get back to the things i love and the things i am good at. and sleeping. 

so my first topic back to tips & tricks is a tool you should purchase for your kitchen. i'm sure you are thinking, what the hell do i need a torch in my kitchen for??? well, let me explain. small torches are a cheap and easy addition to your kitchen that can really open up a whole bunch of cooking options. suddenly, you are able to brûlée. that is just a fancy term for putting sugar on something and then heating it up so much it melts together and caramelizes. you can use your home torch to sear meat or melt cheese or caramelize a meringue. or in this case, you can use your at home torch to smoke some fresh herbs. 

now it is important to know that there are two options for torches. butane torches and propane torches. butane torches are great for your smaller projects. smoking your herbs is a perfect example of a smaller project. for something bigger like brûlée or searing some meat, you will want a propane torch. they burn at a higher temperature. here is a solid BUTANE TORCH. here is good PROPANE TORCH. once you have selected your torch, you will need some herbs. 

you will want to use a study herb with a strong twig like stem. sage, thyme, rosemary and lavender work great. all are wonderful smoked and even better smoked and added to a cocktail. 

once you have selected your herb, it is really easy. torch it. literally.

light it on fire and let the fresh leaves burn till they burn out (it should only take 3-5 seconds). then use as desired. 

xo, a