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Thai Die
By Karl Taro Greenfeld
An adventure gone awry in northern Thailand

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By Bob Blumer
Garlic Worship

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Big Easy Addiction

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LA S T+W E E K

Tuesday, July 15

Sex! Sand! Surf!
Po Bronson at Club Med

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Wanderlust articles

mo' garlic

PUT ALL THE GOODNESS OF THE STINKIN' ROSE ON TOAST.

Those of you who still prefer your wine by the glass and your garlic direct from the bulb should pack your bags and join a like-minded group of 130,000 garlic lovers as they converge on Gilroy, Calif., to celebrate the garlic harvest. (The new crop is always fresh and firm, without those green sprouts that practically overtake the bulb by the time the tail end of last season's crop makes it's way to your grocery shelves.) From July 25-27 the Gilroy Garlic Festival dishes up samples of such novelties as garlic ice cream and chocolate covered garlic, as well as hundreds of traditional garlic-infused dishes for the less adventurous.

Whether you make the pilgrimage or pay homage at home, the ultimate way to appreciate garlic is to eat an entire roasted bulb. When baked, garlic becomes sweet and caramelizes like an onion. The resulting flavor provides an entirely different sensation from the "bite" of raw garlic. Roasted garlic cloves are also a great addition to pasta, salad, soup, risotto, pizza or simply spread on a toasted baguette slice. Always make extra to keep on hand for these uses. Refrigerate the baked bulbs and extract the individual cloves as required, or peel the cloves after baking and store them in olive oil (the remaining oil will rock your world).

The following recipe uses pine nuts, goat cheese and Italian parsley as a foil to the pungent flavor of the roasted "stinking rose." Take one bite and go directly to garlic heaven!

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ROASTED GARLIC WITH GOAT CHEESE, PINE NUTS AND ITALIAN PARSLEY
(Serves 2)

Ingredients
2 whole garlic bulbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 ounces strong goat cheese
1 sourdough (preferable) or French baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 tablespoons roasted pine nuts*
6 sprigs of Italian parsley
1 foot of tin foil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice a 1/2-inch off the pointed end of the garlic bulb to expose each clove. Place garlic on the aluminum foil; pour a half teaspoon of olive oil over the top of each bulb and let it sink in between the cloves. Wait 2 minutes and repeat.
3. Wrap foil around garlic bulbs along with the oil drippings so that it is sealed, and bake for an hour. F.Y.I., there is no need to buy any of those fancy-schmancy ceramic roasters, aluminum foil works just fine, thank you.
4. Toast bread ovals.
5. Remove garlic from aluminum foil and artfully arrange the pine nuts, goat cheese and parsley on a plate around the garlic bulb.

To eat, extract one or two individual garlic cloves from bulb with a small fork, spread on toast, and top with goat cheese, pine nuts and parsley leaves.

Le Secret: When cooked to perfection, cloves should be browned at the exposed end and soft throughout.
The Adventure Club: You're soaking in it, baby!
Music To Cook By: Jane Siberry, "Bound by the Beauty," Reprise Records. (After growing up in a garlic-free household, I was introduced to roasted garlic by Jane, and I have never looked back -- or smelled the same.)
Wine: An Alsatian Gewurztraminer (white)

Gilroy Garlic Festival Info Line: (408) 842-1625

If you don't make it to Gilroy, you can mail-order garlic to eat or garlic to plant (complete growing instructions) from my pals Jon and Dede, purveyors of the Electric Garlic Stand at the Hollywood Farmer's Market. E-mail them at thogbaz!@aol.com.
July 22, 1997

*Spread nuts on a cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Or, place nuts in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and, under a watchful eye, follow the same concept.

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Illustration by Bob Blumer (a k a the Surreal Gourmet).
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The Surreal Gourmet's Web Site is located at http://surrealgourmet.com.