When you want a dish to have quintessential garlic flavor that permeates each bite, mince it. You can mince with a knife, or a garlic press.
Either way, you need to free the individual cloves. To do that, press down on the head with the heel of your palm. Apply firm, even pressure so the cloves don't fly all over the place.
To peel an individual clove, cut of the hard stem end where the clove attached to the bulb. Either stop the cut just short of the skin on the other side and peel the skin around to remove it, or make the cut all the way through and squeeze out the clove. The older the clove, the easier the skin releases.
You can also peel it by setting the side of your knife blade on the clove and pressing down until you feel the skin release, though not hard enough to pulverize it, or the skin will get mixed in with the garlic.
To mince with a knife, smash the peeled clove with the side of the knife. Then just run your knife back and forth across the smashed clove, chopping as you go until it's as fine as you like.
If you don't want individual little pieces of garlic and have a press, just put the whole peeled clove (or cloves, if you can fit them) in the press and squeeze. Use your knife to trim away any clinging garlic.
I love the smooth mildness of cooked garlic. This is a quick way to get that while boiling your pasta.
When the salted water comes to a boil and the pasta is tossed in, also toss in any number of unpeeled garlic cloves. If the pasta being used cooks more quickly (like fresh pasta), add the cloves to the boiling water about 2 minutes before adding the pasta. If the pasta -- such as ziti -- takes longer to cook, wait until about 7 minutes of cooking time are left and then add the garlic.
When the pasta is al dente -- after 6 to 9 minutes -- drain it. To peel the cooked garlic, hold the papery tip of the garlic peel in one hand and use a wooden spoon to press downward, towards the root end of the clove. The clove should just pop it out.
Reference: What does al dente mean? (Cookthink)
Reference: What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water? (Cookthink)
A crookneck squash is a yellow summer squash with a distinctive curved neck and bumpy skin.
It's thought that all yellow squash were originally crookneck; only through breeding have we ended up with the straight-necked, smooth-skinned yellow summer squash we more often see today.
Like all summer squashes, crooknecks are picked while immature and have an edible skin. If you happen to get an older crookneck with a particularly tough exterior, you might want to cut some of it away with a vegetable peeler. The thicker rind of the crookneck and the slightly sweet flesh hold up beautifully when baked, roasted or grilled.
Recipe: Grilled Shrimp And Squash Kebabs (Cookthink)
Recipe: Chicken In Parchment With Mushrooms, Red Onion And Squash (Cookthink)
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)
What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini?
What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini?
What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini. As far as cooking goes, not much -- just their skin color. We substitute one for the other all the time.
Both are so-called summer squashes that are picked while still immature, so that their thin skins and soft seeds are still edible. A yellow squash is of course yellow, with either a straight body and smooth rind or a crookneck and bumpy skin (which looks odd but is perfectly fine to eat).
Recipe: Zucchini Soup With Lime (Cookthink)
Recipe: Grilled Shrimp And Squash Kebabs (Cookthink)
Reference: Cucumber vs. zucchini (Cookthink)
what you should know
Like its summery sibling zucchini, yellow squash is picked immature so that its soft seeds and thin rind are still perfectly edible. (So-called winter squash -- butternut, acorn and so on -- mature fully before harvest.)
flash in the pan Because yellow squash has such a high water content, it's best suited to cooking quickly on the grill or in sautés and stir fries. At only 36 calories per cup, yellow squash packs a light, healthy punch of dietary fiber and Vitamins A and C.
sliced and diced When prepping yellow squash, we tend to go with large cubes for roasting, long slices for salads and dipping, and rounds for pizzas and frittatas.
well, i'm a crookneck Yellow crookneck squash has a thicker -- but still edible -- rind that holds up well in gratins and kebabs on the grill. If you happen to get an older crookneck whose rind is too tough, whittle it down with a vegetable peeler.
what you need
To dish up a squash gratin, try this stoneware baking dish from Le Creuset or several of these cute single-serving versions, also from Le Creuset.
As always, we're mad about our vegetable peelers. (Last year, Claire pitted the straight peeler vs. the Y peeler and found the Y lacking.)
If you've developed a passionate love for squash, then you have something in common with Amy Goldman, author of The Compleat Squash: A Passionate Grower's Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds.
what you do
A quick grill brings out all the flavor of a fresh yellow squash in just a few minutes.
Yellow squash gratin with basil is just one step more complicated, and still simply delicious.
The delicate, moist texture of squash works well in a papillote, like this one with chicken, red onion and yellow squash.
We love to serve yellow squash and Italian sausage against the doughy backdrop of flat pappardelle noodles.
Featured recipe: If you're craving something crispy and fried, try these summer squash fritters with herbs. The recipe comes from Food 4 The Week, and is the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge.
So-called Italian sausage is a style of plump, uncured pork sausage that comes in hot and sweet varieties -- essentially, with or without hot red peppers.
Sold in links and flavor-enhanced with garlic and fennel and/or anise seeds, it can be cooked like any old sausage and is especially popular in sausage-based pasta sauces or eaten in a sandwich with fried onions and bell peppers.
Go to Italy and ask for "Italian sausage," and you will receive either a blank stare or a multitude of options; what we think of as Italian sausage is a generic label specific to the U.S.
Recipe: Pappardelle With Sausage And Yellow Squash (Cookthink)
Recipe: White Bean Soup With Spicy Sausage (Cook & Eat)
Reference: What is chorizo? (Cookthink)
