Back to Basics: Roasted Garlic

I love garlic. Garlic bread, chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, pasta with sliced garlic, garlic green beans, garlic hummus--as long as it's on the savory side, I'm a fan of throwing a few garlic cloves into it. Z, on the other hand, claims to dislike garlic. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will change at any given moment, because how could you NOT like garlic, but anyways, it means my food life is often garlic deprived.

Luckily, we had a few extra heads of garlic around the other day and lots of bread, which gave me the perfect excuse to create a batch of roasted garlic. Roasted garlic is more mellow and sweet than raw garlic, and it has this awesome creamy texture with caramelized edges. It's garlic for grown ups. 

Roasted garlic is my favorite as is on top of really good bread. It's a great low calorie alternative to butter! The options don't stop there though. Whisk it into a salad dressing, use it as a spread, throw it into mashed potatoes.--it'll give a flavor boost to anything you add it to.

This is a nearly foolproof recipe, so there's no excuse for not making some roasted garlic this weekend. 

Roasted Garlic

1 head of garlic

Drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop the top off of the garlic, so that the cloves are exposed. Try to remove a little bit of the white skin, while keeping the head of garlic intact. Lay a piece of foil on a baking sheet, and place the garlic on top. Drizzle the garlic head with olive oil, then wrap the head up in the foil. 

Bake in the oven until cloves are caramel in color and tender, about 30 minutes. 

Tailgating Favorites: Caramelized Onion Dip

Fall is finally here, which means football and tailgating are in full swing! I didn't grow up as a football fan, and I'm not partial to any NFL team, but college football is a horse of a different color. Z and I are still loyal to our alma mater, and we spend fall Saturdays tailgating with friends down at Stanford.

With football and tailgating comes all the guilty pleasure food that I rarely allow myself to eat during the year, like this caramelized onion dip. This dip is inspired by the Lipton's Onion dip, but this one has way more flavor and no artificial ingredients. 

It's essentially a ton of caramelized onions, stirred into a combination of sour cream and mayo. It's creamy, not overwhelming salty, has a ton of onion flavor, and has a bright punch thanks to a slight addition of balsamic vinegar.

I love it to eat this at game days with potato chips and veggies, but it's also great as a spread on sandwiches. Put a bowl of this out at your next tailgate, and it's sure to disappear quickly. 

Caramelized Onion Dip

From Cook's Country

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 pounds yellow onions, diced fine

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup water

2 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heath. Add onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Reduce heat to medium low, and continue cooking until onions are golden brown (about 10 more minutes).

Add 2 tablespoons water to skillet and stir, scraping up browned bits on bottom of skillet, until water evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of water, and cook until onions caramelize and water evaporates, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar.

Let onions cool. Combine mayo and sour cream in bowl, then stir in cooled onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. 

Preserved Lemons

My best friend Vivian brought me a special treat this winter, bags filled with Meyer lemons! Her parents have a Meyer lemon tree and didn't know what to do with all of those lemons, so she brought some over to me.

Instead of whipping up a batch of lemonade or lemon bars, I decided to make preserved lemons. Preserved lemons are basically pickled lemons, and according to Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge), preserved lemons are a popular condiment in Indian and South African cuisine. You actually serve the preserved lemon peel, not the flesh.

There are lots of reasons to love preserved lemons. First, they provide a nice tart and briny punch to whatever you add them to. Secondly, it allows you to take advantage of Meyer lemons even after they're out of season. Oh, and they are easy to make. Always a plus in my book!

I'll feature a recipe tomorrow showing you how to use these preserved lemons!

Preserved Lemons

Recipe from NPR

4 lemons (ideally organic!)

4 tablespoons of salt

Juice from 4 lemons, plus more to taste

Wash and scrub the lemons well. Quarter the lemons almost completely through, so that the lemons are still attached at the stem. Stuff each lemon with a tablespoon of salt, and close the lemon. 

Put the lemons in a sterilized canning jar, and squeeze the lemons down so that they are squashed together. Leave the jar out for 3-4 days, allowing the skin to soften. 

Then, add lemon juice so that the lemons are completely submerged. Close the jar and leave in a cool place for at least a month. 

Before using, scoop out and discard the pulp, and rinse the lemon peel under the tap to get rid of any extra salt. 

Greek Yogurt Sauce

I recently purchased an UP band for myself, and I have actually been very thorough with logging my food, activity, and sleep habits through the UP iPhone app. Even after just a few days, I noticed myself making healthier food choices, simply because I am now keeping track of almost everything I eat. 

Last weekend, I wanted to make a dip to go with some crudités and sandwiches, but I wanted the dip to be somewhat healthy given my new found health kick. Perusing the internet led me to focus on Greek-inspired veggie dips. I love love love Mediterranean food, and this dip is definitely going to be in constant rotation in my kitchen! It only takes about three minutes to pull everything together, and the dip really livens up sandwiches, salads, and vegetables.

Hope this inspires you to bring some health, Mediterranean cooking into your life this week!

Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce

From Ellie Kreiger

1/2 cup non-fat greek yogurt

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1/8 teaspoon salt

Fresh black pepper to taste


In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients.  It's really that easy!

Lemon Shallot Salad Dressing

Happy Saturday!  I am so excited for the weekend and some much need R&R. This whole week, I have felt one step behind on everything, and my list of errands and job responsibilities kept getting longer, instead of shorter. The snow in D.C. over the past few days also didn't help...it's hard to be motivated when it is 9 degrees outside and all you want to do is escape to a warm, sunny place. 

This lemon shallot salad dressing won't bring you the sunshine or the warm weather, but it is a lovely pick-me-up to add into your repertoire. The salad dressing is perfectly light and refreshing thanks to the fresh lemon juice. Homemade salad dressing takes about two minutes to make, but it really adds flavor to your salad, especially compared to a store-bought dressing.  

This bright lemon dressing is great on lacinato kale, or any other dark leafy green. Add some garbanzo beans and Parmesan cheese, and you have a whole meal! 

Lemon Shallot Salad Dressing

Makes about 1/4 cup of dressing

Juice from 1 lemon

1 shallot, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

Fresh black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1. Put all of your ingredients into a small food processor or blender.  Blend for about 30 seconds, or until well incorporated.
2. Use right away, and store leftovers in the fridge.  The salad dressing should keep for about a week.