Yesterday I went into our little beach market on the corner and handed the cashier a couple of heads of garlic I wanted to buy. As she rang up the purchase, she said she had never used fresh garlic; she just sprinkled on what she wanted from a little jar of dried garlic powder. I told her how simple it is to use garlic cloves and how it makes whatever one is cooking so much tastier. She said she would have to try it one of these days. I knew she was just being polite and I didn’t belabor the issue … to each their own …
But, the conversation got me to thinking about the Parmesan article I just uploaded and the vast taste difference between Kraft grated Parmesan and grating my own imported Parmesan.
Cooking with the freshest ingredients results in better tasting food. It may take a little more time and it may cost a little more for your groceries, but it’s better for you and tastes better--a good value in my estimation!
Speaking of good tastin’ stuff, try out this appetizer recipe that combines Parmesan AND garlic:
Hot Garlic-Parmesan Soufflé
15 cloves garlic peeled
But, the conversation got me to thinking about the Parmesan article I just uploaded and the vast taste difference between Kraft grated Parmesan and grating my own imported Parmesan.
Cooking with the freshest ingredients results in better tasting food. It may take a little more time and it may cost a little more for your groceries, but it’s better for you and tastes better--a good value in my estimation!
Speaking of good tastin’ stuff, try out this appetizer recipe that combines Parmesan AND garlic:
Hot Garlic-Parmesan Soufflé
15 cloves garlic peeled
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
(Dare I suggest substituting Mascarpone—Italian style cream cheese—for cream cheese??? It IS more $$$ Maybe we’ll save Mascarpone for another day. Or, perhaps you have a local creamery that makes its own cream cheese! Yay!)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of low-sodium mushroom soup, undiluted
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 loaf baguette bread, thinly sliced.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine garlic cloves and chicken broth; bring to a boil and poach 15 minutes or until garlic is soft. Remove garlic cloves to a small bowl and allow them to cool. When cool, mash with a fork; set aside.
Cook and reduce chicken broth to a glaze; remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mushroom soup, garlic-chicken glaze, mashed garlic, and egg yolks; stir until well blended. Transfer into a shallow ungreased 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish.
Bake, uncovered, 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve with bread.
Serves many!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine garlic cloves and chicken broth; bring to a boil and poach 15 minutes or until garlic is soft. Remove garlic cloves to a small bowl and allow them to cool. When cool, mash with a fork; set aside.
Cook and reduce chicken broth to a glaze; remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mushroom soup, garlic-chicken glaze, mashed garlic, and egg yolks; stir until well blended. Transfer into a shallow ungreased 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish.
Bake, uncovered, 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve with bread.
Serves many!
Enjoy!
PS ... of course you could go the extra kilometer, and make your own chicken broth with less sodium, and your own mushroom soup without all the preservatives, and use those in the above recipe. Wouldn't it be fun to see how much it actually DOES taste better making your own than using canned broth/soup?
Isn't it wonderful to have a choice?
WOW Kay, i <3 garlic and this looks really great. My garlic is going to be big this year, it's already pretty tall in the garden!
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