Today, I am making garlic butter for
my kids who all have colds. I have one
son who cannot swallow a pill or vitamin to save his life. So one day, I made a ton of this garlic
butter for him, and he ate it slathered all over a piece of toast.
Garlic helps you fight germs.
So this is not only a great butter
to serve with dinner (especially on warm, homemade bread or French bread), but
it’s also great for when you are not feeling well and need a boost for your
immune system.
And it couldn’t be easier to
make. (The hardest part is peeling the
garlic.)
All you do is rough chop a bunch of garlic and sauté it
in a spoonful of olive oil over low to medium-low heat for a couple minutes, stirring
constantly. Don’t let it burn. It gets bitter.
Taste a piece to see what you think. If you like it stronger-tasting or are using
it to help fight illness, cook just until it goes translucent. If you like it more mellow, cook a minute or so longer. Just don’t let it burn.
Then pour the garlic and oil (or cool it first before
pouring) into a few tablespoon of butter.
If you don’t cool the garlic first, the butter will melt. That’s okay, just use it like that or let it
cool until it firms up (but the butter will be a little "grainy" once it cools). Then just spread
it all over some bread. Or use it on
baked or mashed potatoes.
[If
you want roasted garlic, just put the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves into a
small baking dish, drizzle a little olive oil on top, stir it around to coat it
all, cover with foil and bake at about 350 degrees for around 15-20 minutes,
more if you need it. Don’t let it
burn. When the cloves are soft (poke it
with a knife to see if it goes in easily), let them cool. Then slit with a knife, scrape or squeeze out
the cloves, and mash them into some butter.
This gives a much more mellow flavor, but it can get a little oddly
“sweet.” I prefer a more biting,
stronger taste from the sautéing method.]
