Volume 12, Issue 015 - January 19, 2007

Hello Friend,

The weather in the U.S. has been kind of crazy these past few weeks, and it has been very cold in many parts of the country. Snow in California, orange crops lost to ice, lettuce crops frozen, power outages due to ice storms and more. When the weather gets like that, there is nothing more comforting than to sit down to a nice hot bowl of soup. Next week we will look at some classic soup recipes from around the world.

I hope you enjoyed this week's garlic theme! It is Friday, so I thought I would include a nice dessert for you below. Have a great weekend...You deserve it!

ClubSauce.Com Prepare all your soups, sauces & recipes with demi-glace & classic stock reductions including veal, lobster, lamb, venison, chicken, seafood, & veggie.

Aioli is a cold sauce made of garlic, egg, acid (lemon juice or vinegar), and olive oil, basically a garlic-flavored mayonnaise. Wonderful with fish and seafood, grilled chicken and veggies like artichokes. For a quick and tasty appetizer, mix some fresh grated Romano cheese into some aioli and spread it on baguette slices and broil quickly.

Basic Aioli

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves
2 egg yolks
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the egg and process until well mixed. With the motor running, slowly pour in half of the olive oil. Stop the machine and add the lemon juice. Then, with the motor running, slowly add the remaining olive oil and process until the mixture is thickened and the oil is emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, covered, and up to 12 hours before serving. This will allow the raw garlic flavor to mellow.

NOTE: The American Egg Board states - "There have been warnings against consuming raw or lightly cooked eggs on the grounds that the egg may be contaminated with Salmonella, a bacteria responsible for a type of foodborne illness."

Growing your own garlic is an act of patience. In the fall, plant one clove for each head of garlic you wish to harvest. Right about the time the snow melts and the tulips are beginning to pop out of the ground, you'll see your garlic shoots come to life. Then you have to wait until late summer, when the tops turn brown and start to fall over. It is worth the wait; you'll see.

If you can't grow your own garlic, here are a few guidelines for buying it. You'll notice two colors of skin—some are white and some are a pink or light purple color. They are interchangeable. Some people say that the colored garlic is a bit milder or sweeter, but I've never noticed a difference.

The paper-like skin should be intact and the flesh should be firm when pressed with your thumb. Soft or spongy garlic is old and is losing its flavor and potency.

Don't buy more garlic than you can use in 10 days to 2 weeks.

If I'm buying garlic, I like to buy heads with larger cloves only because they are easier for me to peel and handle during cutting. A normal head of garlic will have about a dozen cloves. This does not apply to Elephant Garlic, which has huge, but has fewer cloves. I grow some of these each year and use them for roasting or special presentations. To me, the flavor of these huge cloves is milder.

Sometimes you'll see strands of garlic for sale, but only buy them if you use a LOT of garlic, or if you just want to use it for decorative purposes.

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Garlic Ice Cream

This recipe, from The Stinking Rose Cookbook by The Stinking Rose restaurant in San Francisco, is a deliciously unusual combination, which will certainly make your dinner guests take notice. Make sure they understand the garlic flavor is intentional. Otherwise, they'll think you forgot to wash the mixing bowl!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 vanilla bean, split in half
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
9 egg yolks

Preparation:

Bring milk, garlic and vanilla to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, blend cream, sugar and egg yolks. Strain scalded milk mixture into egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Return combined mixture to pan and stir continuously over moderate heat until it coats the back of a spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool in an ice bath. Pour into ice cream freezer and churn until firm.