A Ode to Garlic

Dearest Garlic,

We have known each other a long time. Mom practically weened me on you. I remember drives to Southern California from our home in NorCal (NOTE: I lived there between the ages of five and 10), lowering the windows through the fields of Gilroy, smelling your delicious goodness wafting through the car -- although my friend Parker told me later that the scent was probably you drying in the ConAgra plant there. Way to kill a dream, Parker! ;-) Naw, I'm just kidding.

But no matter where I went, you were there, and when I first started to cook when I went away to college, you were an essential ingredient. I couldn't live without you. I didn't care if you made my breath smell. You made my college apartment a home away from home, not to mention made my food super-tasty. I used to use a minced jar, but eventually made the switch to the real deal -- full-on cloves of garlic, ready for me to peel and mince.

It was amazing to me later that you actually have Talmudic history. According to the Sages, garlic is an aphrodesiac, and it should always be eaten on Friday night to encourage the big double mitzvah of Shabbat (if you don't know what this is, ask your Rabbi). My friend Robert is convinced that this has to do with the fact that, because of medical research, you actually have many heart and circulation benefits. I'm not sure, because I think that if you're going to smell of garlic, you might as well smell together.

Restaurants understand the power of garlic in dishes, such as those that feature the delights of Mediterranean cuisine. I have eaten cloves carmelized on a sandwich in Cambria (more about that later), spread on a slice of bread or merged in a fragrant olive oil. Your flavor and power are not underestimated. You even have restaurants dedicated to you, most famously The Stinking Rose off of La Cienega in Los Angeles, where it is rumored you will reek of garlic for two days after you eat there. It doesn't matter to me, because I would happily smell of garlic for several days to fulfill my lifelong dream to eat at this restaurant (it's been difficult for Ari and I to afford any restaurant, let alone The Stinking Rose).

So, therefore, I dedicate myself to you, garlic. I will always celebrate you in my food, from the delicious flavors of barbecue to any pasta dish that I might cook up. I will mince properly (which I learned from an Israeli chef, Margot, this weekend -- see below) and sniff my fingers with delight after I scoop you up to put you in a dish. I will try my best to always use fresh when a dish calls for garlic, although if I can't for the sake of texture in a dish, I will use garlic powder.

I know you can't be in every dish, because there are some dishes where other ingredients have to shine. But you always play a beautiful note to complement certain dishes, or take on a starring role when it comes to flavor. Either way, garlic, never change.

In dedication to you, I am writing one of my favorite pasta recipes below, where you have a starring role. That is how much I love you. Garlic, you will always have my heart.

Love, Reina

ARTICHOKE OLIVE PASTA

1 pound penne pasta (see Quick Tip 1)
2 cups or 2 small jars of marinated artichoke hearts
1 can black pitted olives
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese (optional for dairy)

Boil the pasta according to package directions, seasoning the water with salt before adding the penne. Meanwhile, drain both the artichoke hearts and olives. Slice olives and coarsely chop artichoke hearts. Mince the garlic (see Quick Tip 2).

Drain the pasta, and transfer back to the pot it was cooked. Lower the heat on the stove to low. Add olive oil and garlic and mix. Add artichokes and olives and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot on its own, or if you're having a dairy meal, sprinkle some parmesan on if you'd like.

QUICK TIP 1: I prefer penne with this dish, but I find that other pastas work well with this too. I don't recommend spaghetti or long-stranded pasta, as it doesn't seem to mix as well with the ingredients. I recommend any small pasta that has a hole in it to absorb all the deliciousness of the olive oil.

QUICK TIP 2: Margot gave me the best tip to mince garlic, as it seems like it can take an extra-long time sometimes: To work faster with your knife, place the hand that is not holding the handle on the knife on the top of it (the opposite side of the sharp side, obviously), and use that to go faster and have more pressure. It works so well. She also does it with parsley.