Aioli for everybody!!!

So, if you made my recipe for Roasted Garlic, then you're now left with a bunch of garlic that needs to be used. Never fear!! I have plenty of recipes to help with this wonderfully delicious issue. After the garlic has been roasted, it takes on a flavor profile that is distinct, yet reminiscent of its raw counterpart. This makes it marvelous for use in various condiments to accompany dishes, one of which is the aioli (recipe shown below).

Aioli is very similar to mayonnaise, in that it is essentially an emulsion of egg and oil, and becomes a creamy condiment that is perfect for sandwiches. However, aioli has a much more pronounced flavor than mayo; it is usually made with olive oil and garlic, with other ingredients  added into it, suc as red pepper flakes. Since this is the case, aioli is also delicious served alongside seafood, or veggies (both raw and cooked); it originated in the Provence region of France, and the name comes from ail ("garlic") and oli ("oil"). Usually, fresh garlic is used to make aioli, however my version uses roasted garlic for a more complex flavor. So, without further ado, here's my recipe for aioli, made two different ways.

Roasted Aioli (makes about 1/2 cup)

1 egg yolk

1 cloves of roasted garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp mustard (I used a spicy brown mustard, but any good mustard will do)

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 tsp paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

By hand:

Place garlic in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl, and crush it with a little salt to form a paste. Add the mustard, lemon juice, paprika, pepper, and egg yolk to the bowl, mix well with a whisk. Slowly pour in the  oil, whisking all the while, until the sauce becomes a thick and creamy emulsion. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, or lemon juice as needed. Place in a clean jar or other container, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before using; this allows the flavors to mingle and mellow out.

By machine:

Place all of the ingredients except for the oil in a food processor; turn on briefly to combine the ingredients. With the motor running, slowly stream in the oil through the feed tube until the sauce becomes a thick and creamy emulsion. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, or lemon juice, as needed.

Note: depending on how you plan to serve the aioli, feel free to add a tablespoon of one or more fresh herbs to the mix; a teaspoon of honey could also be an interesting addition.

So here's an idea for how to use the aioli: (for 1 person) place 8 quartered baby red potatoes in enough salted water to cover them. Bring up to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are able to be easily pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes or so. Once cooked, drain the potatoes and mash them with 1/4 cup of light cream, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of the aioli. You will be amazed at how much flavor the aioli gives the potatoes, even though not much of it is needed! The recipe for the chicken thighs you see here will be shared in a later post. Live life and eat well!

Sources:

Aioli

History of Sauces

My favorite compound butter and oil

Hello everyone!! In honor of the inaugural Spotlight's On! ingredient, garlic, I want to share with you my favorite compound butter and flavored oil recipes. These items can be used in a variety of different ways, and just add a little something special to the dishes you use them in. For the compound butter, I love to smooth it onto a freshly toasted piece of bread for a snack, or to top a steak; as it melts, it gives a wonderful flavor that is better than plain butter. I mainly use the oil to make scrambled eggs; although most people I know use onions, cheese and other ingredients to flavor their eggs, I find that the oil, salt and pepper seasons the eggs plenty. Both of these recipes, however, require roasted garlic - I will share the recipe for this first.
Easy Roasted Garlic

One head of garlic
1/4 cup of good olive oil
Heavy pinch of salt

1.) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2.) Remove the top of the garlic and place it on the baking sheet; you can also break the cloves apart and put them on the baking sheet if you'd like for them to cook faster.

3.) Sprinkle the olive oil onto the garlic; season with salt and bake for (cloves) or (whole head). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool, then use or store in the refrigerator with a little more oil.

Once you've taken the garlic out of the oven and allowed it to cool, you can use it as you see fit. Roasting softens the garlic's texture and allows for it to carmelize; honestly, you could spread it onto bread by itself and it would be delicious. However, let's just make it a little more interesting:

My Favorite Compound Butter

4 tablespoons softened butter
2 cloves roasted garlic
1 teaspoon honey

Mix all the ingredients together with a fork in a small bowl. If you'd like, place in some plastic wrap, roll into a log and place in the refrigerator to harden. Otherwise, just place it in a small container and use as needed.

For the oil, there isn't really too much of a recipe: simply take a clean glass jar, and place two cloves of roasted garlic in it, along with 1/2 cup olive oil. As it sits, the garlic flavor diffuses into the oil and makes it taste even better than it normally does. Also, I've used raw garlic for this oil as well, and it also gives wonderful results - try both to see which works better for you!!

I hope that these recipes are helpful, and be on the lookout for more uses of the roasted garlic from the first recipe!! Love life, and eat well!

My first time: Crepes

Happy Saturday everyone!! I hope that you are having a wonderful start to the weekend; i know that I have so far. My mother graduated yesterday, and I am SOOOOOOO proud of her! (Go Mommy!!) I thought I'd share my little culinary epiphany from this morning, before diving into the regular set-up from my last post. 

So this morning, I thought to make something different for breakfast. I had heard of crepes before, but had been hesitant to make them myself, because I thought that they would be difficult to make. Boy was I wrong! These lovely little French "pancakes" are actually extremely simple to make. I call them "pancakes" because they are so different from the texture and flavor of the typical American pancake that it wouldn't be right for me to leave the quotation marks off. 

It's actually amazing how simple they are, & they will definitely become part of my staple breakfast! I made these sweet crepes with the recipe from Mark Bittman's awesome book How to Cook Everything, but when I develop my own recipe for them, I will be sure to post it here. When I finished making the crepes, I filled them with grape jelly and served them alongside some bacon. Yummy!!! 

Crepes are so versatile; with sugar, they can be filled with jams, jellies, marmalades, custards, fruit - the possibilities are vast! Without the sugar, they can be filled with a variety of tasty savory fillings, and can be used to make an easy meal. So, now that I know this, I will be sure to keep experimenting with them. It's amazing how simple something can turn out to be once you go ahead and make it! Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for more firsts and recipes. Much love!

A Lovely Beginning

Hello everyone! This summer is going to be a wonderful culinary experience for me, and I can’t wait to share with you the lovely (and not so lovely…lol) results. I’ve been looking at recipes for a while, and my hands are just itching to try out new recipes. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve found that I am most relaxed and focused when I have pots and pans going over a hot fire, plus pan(s) in the oven. It’s a wonderful feeling, especially when I can share the finished product with other people; their enjoyment fills me with joy, and I know that I have a passion that can’t be extinguished. With that being said, I look forward to sharing my experiences with various foods from various cultures, and if you see something you like, try it out & let me know how it turns out!!! Hopefully, this will be the start of a beautiful process.