Ok, time for an appetizer:
Recipe - Baked Garlic with Goat Cheese
When I was a kid, my grandad would half-jokingly say, “Boy, yah grow up an’ yah marry yerself an ugly girl - they ain’t much to look at, but they’ll be so grateful, they’ll always treat yah right!”
Dubiousness aside, this dish is an “ugly girl” - it looks awful, but it’s a flavor powerhouse!
As you can see, she’s an oily miss, but that’s ok, it works to everyone’s advantage later on.
Start by roasting peeled cloves in a lot of olive oil, then add in some pine nuts, bake a little longer, then some cheese and some more pine nuts, bake a little longer. That’s it. Serve on crackers or (even better) toasted baguette slices.
Whole cloves of roasted garlic…salty-creamy goat cheese…that almost buttery taste from the pine nuts - oh, but this is good! I believe the word our British friends would use is “moreish.”
Back to that oil - when this first came out of the oven, I thought, “That’s too much
oil!” and I tried sort of incorporating it in a little, but it wasn’t going anywhere.
Got it into serving dishes, and it rose right to the top. Then it struck me, “Hey, maybe this is by design…
“ - I plopped a toasty bread slice on top of the oil and, 30 seconds later…roasted garlic-infused crouton!
So yes…thanks for the advice, grandad, because this is one “ugly girl” that definitely treated me right!