Brittany's PantryHow To: Roast Garlic
Brittany wrote this on 12 February 2013
garlic, gluten-free, How To, vegetarian
Roasted garlic! Finally!
I have been meaning to blog about this for forEVER! If you have never done it before, you are in for a tremendous treat! Not only is it ridiculously easy, but once you eat it and cook with it, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. I will post some recipes using roasted garlic in the future, but for now, here is your step by step instructions. Lets get started!
Roasted Garlic
2-3 heads (or bulbs) of garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
In the above picture you can see three heads, or bulbs of garlic. Just to be clear, the individual pieces are called cloves. If you are going to roast garlic, I recommend doing at least 2 heads so that you have enough to use in a recipe, but you can do as many or as few as you want! Generally, you should avoid any heads that have green shoots growing from them as this some times makes the garlic kind of bitter. Look for bulbs that are nice and tight with no blemishes.
First, cut the head of garlic in half, crosswise-not stem to stem, exposing the individual cloves.
Depending on the size of your bulb, this may take some muscle. It will also smell great. Mmm. Fresh garlic…Remove any extra paper skin from the outside, leaving just enough to hold the cloves together.
Place the garlic halves on a small piece of aluminum foil. Aren’t they pretty? I love garlic.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
If you want to be like me, fold the foil into a nice little packet, leaving room for air to circulate. If you are less particular, just gather up the foil and wrap it up. Its all good.
Isn’t it cute? Now throw that puppy in a 350 degree oven for about a half hour. You want the garlic soft and buttery.
This is where you can mess with the process a bit. Sometimes I put it in the toaster oven. If I am already using my oven for something, I will throw garlic in to save time. If the oven is set lower, I roast the garlic a little longer and vice versa. As long as the oven isn’t set really hot, because then the garlic might burn. And burned garlic is NOT yummy.
Behold! The sweet goodness of roasted garlic! Your house will smell so good, do not open your windows unless you want the neighbors to come running. At this point, I suggest popping out a clove and just eating one straight up. No sharp garlic taste, just unbelievable sweetness and amazing flavor. So now what do you do?
Grab one half and gently squeeze the whole thing into a small bowl. The cloves will pop right out. You may have to turn it and squeeze again to get all of them out, but the skins generally stay put. You can leave them like this, or…
…mash with a fork. Either way you can eat it just like this.
Smear it on a piece of bread, a sandwich or mix it into a bazillion different things.
Uses for roasted garlic (including but not limited to):
* turn it into a dip
* stir it into mashed potatoes
* mash and smear on a pizza, or leave the cloves whole and sprinkle them on
* stir the cloves into cooked brown rice with salt and pepper and plenty of freshly chopped parsley
* add it to an alfredo sauce and toss with the pasta of your choice
* add it to your favorite mac & cheese recipe
* toss it with steamed green beans
* mix it into scrambled eggs
* top a salad with it
* stir it into your favorite potato salad
* puree it into hummus
* marinade freshly chopped tomatoes with roasted garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar then top crostini with it
Leave your favorite ideas in the comments below and enjoy!
Buttermilk Cremes
Brittany wrote this on 8 February 2013 blueberries, buttermilk, cream, fruit, gluten-free
I had a brief moment of hesitation when deciding to post this recipe. Very brief. Like, so brief it is barely worth mentioning. And yet here I am, talking about it…
But THEN! Then, I came to my senses and started typing! I thought that another custard recipe so soon after creme brulee might be too much, but ultimately, I had to share this. How could I possibly keep from telling you about my new go-to, make-ahead dessert? I can’t. That is why we are here.
This is essentially a buttermilk panna cottta. Panna whatsa? If you haven’t ever had-or heard of-panna cotta, lets review! Its Italian, it means ‘cooked cream’, and it is spectacular. It is a bit like a creme brulee, but instead of egg yolks being used as the thickener to make it set, you use gelatin instead. What does this mean? It means that instead of a rich and decadent custard, you get a light, creamy, clean custard. Also, there is very little cooking involved! Always kinda nice, right? It gets warmed on the stove just enough to dissolve the gelatin and then the fridge does all the work!
I make plain panna cotta every once in awhile, but the high ratio of buttermilk to cream in this recipe is what drew me in. I still make it the regular way (i.e. mainly cream and/or milk giving it a more plain flavor and a good canvas for whatever fruit you serve it with) but the tang in this version makes it its own dessert. A whole new ball game here, people!! Its light and lovely and a little bit tart and gaaaaaahh!
And can I just say that the fact that it is such a lovely bright white is one of my favorite things. I like white. It just clean and perfect and delightful. Just like this dessert.
There. Aren’t you glad I decided to mention it?
Buttermilk Cremes
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
2 T water
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 c heavy cream
1/2 c sugar
2 c low fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
assorted fresh or frozen berries, optional
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside to soften for five minutes. Meanwhile, heat the cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium low heat until very hot, but not bubbling. As soon as it starts to steam, turn off the heat and whisk in the softened gelatin. Whisk until smooth and gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool until just warm. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla. Waiting until it cools keeps the buttermilk from curdling and the vanilla from evaporating. Spray 6 (5-6 oz) ramekins lightly with oil and wipe excess away with a paper towel. Carefully divide the cream evenly among the cups. Chill until very cold. Serve in the ramekin or lightly run a small knife around the edge and turn out into a plate. Top with fruit it desired. Cremes keep perfectly up to three days in the fridge.
Creamy Tomato Soup
Brittany wrote this on 1 February 2013 basil, carrots, chicken broth, cream, gluten-free, onions, soup, tomatoes, vegetarian
So. If you are a regular reader of Brittany’s Pantry, you know that I am not the biggest fan of soup. My husband and kids? Yes. Me? No. Unless it is ice cream, I would rather eat meals that require a fork. However, if you know that about me, you also know that even though I don’t like to eat it, I love to make it. All the vegetable chopping and stirring and seasoning; I love it.
Until just a year or two ago, the only tomato soup I had ever had was out of a can. No offense to Campbells, but no thank you! So then I started making this roasted tomato soup based on a Tyler Florence recipe, and it was actually quite good. Unfortunately, in case you hadn’t noticed, its winter. Winter means not great tomatoes (with the exception of cherry and grape) and there is a severe lack of good basil.
So, I started experimenting with canned tomatoes. I figured if I could create a basic tomato soup recipe, I could just switch up what I served it with based on mood. Panini, cheese sandwiches, crusty bread, croutons, and even a gooey scoop of mac and cheese. Because everyone needs a good soup recipe now and then, right?
Creamy Tomato Soup
I generally use crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. They give great texture to whatever you use them in. This recipe is the perfect example.
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
2-28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
3-14 oz cans good quality chicken broth
1/2 c heavy cream, optional
In a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, sweat the onion and carrots in the olive oil over medium low to medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the carrots start to soften and the onions are nearly translucent. Add the oregano, basil, and chicken broth and cook another 15 minutes, or until the carrots are very soft. Add the crushed tomatoes, and simmer the soup for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, puree the soup in batches in a food processor or blender. BE CAREFUL!! It is hot!!! Return to the pot and add as little or as much cream as you like. Taste for seasoning.
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