Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

I just got back from visiting my cousin in her new home in Gilroy. Gilroy is a small, basically unknown town in Northern California.  Well, not unknown actually, just...specialized. When you say to someone, "this weekend I was at my cousin's house in Gilroy. We played wine pong with a crumpled up piece of tin foil because we didn't have any ping-pong balls." that person says back to you, "Gilroy? Isn't that where they have the Garlic Festival?"

Yes. Oh yes it is. I didn't get to go this year, but my cousin has enthralled me with the Tales of 1001 Garlic Nights. There's the Tale of the Garlic Shrimp Scampi, the story of the Garlic Ice Cream, and even (gasp) The Great Garlic Wine Saga.
The idea of garlic ice cream made me cringe. I have a limited tolerance for spicy foods. Although I have been known to put Sriracha on my macaroni and cheese, I draw the line when I start to cry and sniffle. Food shouldn't hurt! But it turns out creamy garlic is a wild idea, but it just might work.  Garlic can taste completely different depending on the way you prepare it. I mean COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

40 shades of garlic.

You've surely minced or pressed garlic before; it tastes good in practically anything. But you can also make garlic so sweet and buttery that you can dip crackers right in it or use it as a sandwich spread.

The garlic recipe I want to showcase today is: chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. Yep, 40 cloves! Don't shy away from it because it sounds painful; I assure you it's creamy and delicious. It will be your favorite crock pot recipe from now on because it's so easy and hands-off.

Garlic is an allium, and family to onions, scallions, chives, and leeks. Alliums get their distinctive, spicy flavor from sulfur-based compounds. When you break the tissues of these plants by crushing or cutting them, they release the sulfur as a defense mechanism. Although humans can withstand-and even enjoy-eating the plant, other creatures like insects, dogs and cats can be seriously harmed by it as it damages their red blood cells. Don't ever feed garlic to your cat or dog no matter how much they beg.

Because the reaction happens so quickly, it also doesn't last very long. Once the cut allium sits out for a few minutes, or when you cook it, the sulfur begins to react with other chemicals in the plant and becomes less spicy and more sweet. Knowing this can give you some freedom to change the flavor of your garlic depending on what you're cooking. If you want spicy, chop or press to release the sulfur compounds. If you want sweet and buttery, cook those babies whole!

Enjoy experimenting! And let me know how that garlic ice cream turns out!

xoxoxoxo

A

 ~Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic~

2-3 heads of garlic             10 bone-in chicken thighs

1 tbsp fresh rosemary        1/2 white wine

2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Separate the garlic into heads. As the name suggests, there should be about 40. DO NOT PEEL THEM. Scatter them in the bottom of the crock pot. 

2. Remove the skin from the chicken (if skin on). Finely chop the rosemary and sprinkle it on the chicken along with some salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the crock pot with the unpeeled garlic. 

3. Pour in the wine and the lemon juice. 

5. Cover and cook 5-6 minutes on low, until chicken is tender and falling off the bone. 

6. Remove the garlic cloves and squish them out of their peels. With a fork, mash the garlic into the cooking liquid. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and boil. Cook until slightly thickened. 

7. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve!