Roasted Garlic

Taylor and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend in Floyd, VA with his sweet family. I slept in late, ate too much, and drank lots of wine. It was a welcome break from the heat, and I was even able to run outside in the mornings. There's just something about running in the mountains... I feel like the queen of the world whenever I reach a peak. I'm 6 years old. 


Taylor's mom had the fun idea of each couple (there are 3 sons, and 3 girlfriends of sons) cooking something, but Taylor and I were total slackers. Meaning I just couldn't get my ish together and we didn't plan anything. So of course, as soon as we got there we started feeling left out. We stormed to the local Food Lion and quite possibly had people convinced we were contestants on Supermarket Sweep. But we walked away with the makings of a pretty fun appetizer. 

Ina's roasted shrimp (100x better than regular shrimp cocktail, I promise you'll never look back,) rosemary bread, olive oil, goat cheese, and the most delicious garlic you will ever put in your mouth. 


I love garlic, no matter how you slice it. But I'll be the first to admit it can be a little pungent. I can't explain it, but some kind of magic happens in the oven when you take the whole bulb, whack off one end, drizzle it in olive oil, and swaddle it in foil. The only thing I can compare it to is when the "tough guy" has a little girl and he's transformed into the biggest baby you've ever known. Roasting the garlic makes it softer, gentler, kinder. Delicate and delicious. You can spread it on a piece of bread like butter.  


Everyone raved about everything. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but really it's no exaggeration. And I'm not saying this to convince you I'm the world's greatest chef. I really can take no credit, it was just good, simple food. The only "ingredients" we used in the cooking process were olive oil, salt, and pepper. It's all about letting the food speak for itself. We threw it all on a big butcher's block (I'm my mother's daughter.) We didn't have a serrated knife at the cabin so we let everyone tear off big hunks of bread, which is exactly how I think entertaining should be.


Note: there are really no rules to roasting garlic, but here's a lovely how-to by one of my favorite kitchen ladies.