Everything Tastes Better with Garlic

January 1, 2004
Garlic can certainly kick the flavor of any dish up a notch or two, and Perry (Everything Tastes Better with Bacon; Summertime Treats) offers this slim volume dedicated to the intense bulb. She explains the various ways garlic can be stored and prepared (chopped, minced, pressed, grated, roasted, sauteed, etc.) and gives an exhaustive list of garlic gadgets (including a cellar, peeler, press, slicer and odor bar). Her recipes run the gamut from appetizers and dips to soups, pizzas and sandwiches, not to mention pastas and main courses. Alongside such traditional recipes such as Spaghetti Aglio E Olio and Forty-Cloves-And-Who's-Counting Chicken, she includes recipes for Grilled Shrimp with Tomatillo-Garlic Salsa and Grilled Corn on the Cob with Festival Garlic Butter. Contrary to her premise, some recipes are simply just fine without garlic: for example, the Grilled Garlic Bruschetta with Basil, Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella, is a classic, subtly flavored dish without the grilled garlic--and the addition of garlic butter overpowers those flavors. Although garlic is ubiquitous enough that it hardly demands a book dedicated to it, in the end, this is a charming volume from which to pick and choose.

July 19, 2004
Garlic can certainly kick the flavor of any dish up a notch or two, and Perry (Everything Tastes Better with Bacon; Summertime Treats) offers this slim volume dedicated to the intense bulb. She explains the various ways garlic can be stored and prepared (chopped, minced, pressed, grated, roasted, sauteed, etc.) and gives an exhaustive list of garlic gadgets (including a cellar, peeler, press, slicer and odor bar). Her recipes run the gamut from appetizers and dips to soups, pizzas and sandwiches, not to mention pastas and main courses. Alongside such traditional recipes such as Spaghetti Aglio E Olio and Forty-Cloves-And-Who's-Counting Chicken, she includes recipes for Grilled Shrimp with Tomatillo-Garlic Salsa and Grilled Corn on the Cob with Festival Garlic Butter. Contrary to her premise, some recipes are simply just fine without garlic: for example, the Grilled Garlic Bruschetta with Basil, Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella, is a classic, subtly flavored dish without the grilled garlic--and the addition of garlic butter overpowers those flavors. Although garlic is ubiquitous enough that it hardly demands a book dedicated to it, in the end, this is a charming volume from which to pick and choose.

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