Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce

"I want the bone" as Kevin's 10 year old cousin would exclaim when chicken was being served. I'm the same way. I love chicken legs. I'm always looking for yummy chicken recipes. If it were up to me, chicken would be the only meat i'd buy. But since Kev likes beef, I have to to have at least one recipe with beef per week. I came accross this recipe because of Rachelle. She likes to use Simply Recipes as a recipe site. While browsing through the chicken recipes, this garlic white wine chicken recipe caught my eye. Since I had a bottle of dry white wine in the fridge, i decided give this a try. The original recipe used a whole chicken cut-up in 8 pieces. Since I didn't want to go through the trouble to hacking a knife into a whole chicken, I bought drumsticks.

1 4-pound whole chicken, cut into eight parts or 8 drumsticks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 whole heads of garlic, cloves separated (40 cloves) but not peeled
Olive oil
1 1/4 cup dry white wine
3 large sprigs of fresh tarragon
3 large sprigs of fresh thyme

1. Lightly smash the garlic cloves with the side of a heavy chef's knife, just enough to break the cloves. Leave peel on.
2. Trim the chicken pieces of excess fat. Pat them dry and sprinkle pieces generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven (or a large thick-bottom pan with a tight fitting cover) on medium high. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Lay the chicken pieces on the hot oil, do not move until browned, then turn over to other side using tongs. Remove from pan when browned.
3. Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and the herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Move the chicken pieces from top to bottom every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 180°F for thighs and 170°F for breasts.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken pieces to a platter; spoon garlic sauce over the chicken.

When the recipe says "sprinkle pieces (of chicken) generously with salt and pepper", it true, but be less generous with the salt. I think I got a bit carried away with the salt. But it was still ok. I wasn't too keen on the browning step because the residue pepper, salt, and chicken skin fat on the skillet would burn in between batches, which cause burning on the skillet and smoke in the kitchen. However I believe this step to be important, as it gives the chicken a nice tasty colour. I didn't have tarragon and I used 1 tsp of dried thyme instead of fresh. The dish came out good, but not fantastic. I did love the garlic. I ate it with the chicken. I even kept some of the leftover garlic in the fridge to be used on french baguette. Delicious.

Potato, Spinach, and Salmon Patties with Garlic Dill Cream

I can't remember who sent me the recipe for this, but it was a recipe in the NY Times. I've never made any type of patties before, but the potato, salmon, and spinach mixture sounded great and the sauce sounded even better. I love dill! So when Rachelle came over to our place for dinner, I decided to try it. The last couple of times she came over I made salmon fillets, since she doesn't eat red meat. I wanted to make somethign different. I had to alter the original recipe because I didn't like having to fry it in oil. I wanted to bake it for a healthier version. So here's the recipe and the changes I made.






FOR THE POTATO SALMON PATTIES:
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups mashed potatoes, chilled
8 ounces cooked salmon fillet, flaked To save time, I used canned salmon
2 1/2 cups 1 cup panko or bread crumbs to put in patties, and more for coating
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Note: For the first 3 ingredients, you don't have to use the amounts exactly. You can use whatever amounts you like.

FOR THE GARLICKY DILL CREAM:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive or vegetable oil for frying.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible. Place in a bowl and add potatoes, salmon, 1 cup panko, 2 eggs, salt and pepper; mix well to combine.
2. Place remaining bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Place remaining eggs in a second bowl and beat lightly. Place flour in a third bowl.
3. Form spinach mixture into 3-inch patties, about 3/4-inch thick. Dip each patty into flour, tapping off excess, then the egg, letting excess drip into bowl. Coat evenly with panko crumbs. Transfer patties to a large baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Bake in oven for 15 min or until browned.
4. Meanwhile, make dill cream: In a mortar and pestle or with the back of a knife, mash garlic and salt together to make a paste. Stir it into the sour cream or yogurt. Add dill and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
5. Heat 1/4-inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; if using olive oil, you don’t need to use good extra virgin oil. Cook patties in batches, turning once halfway through, until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, with a dollop of dill cream.

Rachelle and I enjoyed this a lot. The recipe made about 18 patties. Kev was a bit indifferent about it since he's not crazy about dill. These patties may be small, but they sure are filling. I froze half of it because I didn't want them to go bad and it was just too much. I think a person can eat maybe 3 patties + a sidedish. 4 patties if eaten alone. When I made the frozen leftovers, the defrosted patties were a mess. They tasted fine, but were much harder to handle. I'd suggest making these as appetizers if you're having a lot of guests.

Mac & Cheese with Italian Sausage

So the stupid groundhogs announced that we won't be having an early spring. What a downer! This calls for some comfort food. When I used to live with Rachelle and we were both lazy and just not willing to learn to cook proper meals (I mean really...sometimes i'd eat a big bowl of cereal for dinner), we would make pasta with tons of vegetables (frozen, couldn't be bothered with fresh ones) and of course a lot of cheese. I'm really glad i'm only semi-lactose intolerant. Cheese has never had an effect on me...besides bliss. When Rachelle made Macaroni and Cheese, it gave me a big craving for it. I made mine with some leftover sausage we had in the freezer, which Kevin didn't like because they were "crazy" flavors.



2 cups macaroni pasta or fusili or any other pasta, cooked
cheddar cheese
1 cup of milk
2 italian sausages, casing removed
1 small onion
garlic
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and put aside
2. On a skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic.
3. Add milk and flour. Boil until thick
4. Add half of cheese. Mix in pasta. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
5. Put in an oven safe casserol dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6. Bake 20-30 min, until cheese is crispy and/or browned.

As you can see from my picture, I couldn't get the darned cheese to brown. I even switched my oven to broil. This is good, but I think I miss the medley of vegetables...This is an extremely easy recipe...you can't get it wrong. You can pretty much add anything you want. Rachelle liked to add a can of tuna or salmon in the mix. You can all any spices you want and many different kinds of cheeses. It's foolproof. Enjoy!

Mackerel with Sweet Soy

I've been learning to cook and bake a lot more things in the last couple of months. I'm still a beginner cook and I still panick a bit when i'm trying something new. During this time, Kevin is also learning to take risks and be my guinea pig. I'm sure my friends now know that I like to cook, because I received 2 dictionnary-sized cookbooks for X'mas/birthday. I've already mentioned the one I received from Rachelle for X'mas. The second one I received was from Anh Thu for my Birthday; How to cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I usually like my cookbooks with food porn, but after studying the book a little, this is a pretty impressive cookbook. One fo the things I like is how they give you a recipe and then follow it with variations of the same recipe. This mackerel recipe is an Asian twist to a basic grilled mackerel in the book.


4 Mackerel Fillet or any fish Fillet
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/4 soy sauce
1 tbs minced garlic
1/4 scallion, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbs white wine or water
1 tbs honey or sugar

1. Mix all ingrdients, except fish. Marinate the fish for 5 minutes or more.
2. Cook in a skillet for 5-10 minutes on medium-high heat or until fish is cooked. The sauce will reduce and caramelize.
3. Serve with white rice.
   

I think the brand of soy sauce i have is way too salty for the measurements given in this recipe. My mackerel dish ended up being too salty, but I could really see the potential of the recipe if only I had tasted my sauce before reducing it to a glaze, which probably enhanced the saltiness. Next time i'll cut the soy sauce in half and dilute with water and/or add more sugar/honey. I love mackerel, so i'd definitely try this recipe again. This took no time to cook. When I was done with the fish, my rice cooker was still working hard at cooking our rice.

Tom Kha Talay

I had about a cup of coconut milk in my fridge and I didn't know what to do with it. I thought about making coconut rice to serve with pork chops, or maybe make Sai Mai Lo ( a Chinese coconut tapioca dessert)...while browsing food blogs, i fell upon Noob Cook's Tom Yum Seafood recipe. I remembered I had Tom Yum Paste in the fridge as well and some frozen shrimp. All I needed was French green beans and some kind of white fish. I finally decided on mackerel. I love mackerel. During my search online, i found that the recipe with coconut milk, lemon grass, and seafood is not Tom Yum, but Tom Kha Talay. Tom Yum is usually a clear broth with no coconut milk.


2Tbs Tom Yum Paste (or more if needed)
2 cups + 1/4 cup (575ml) Vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
12-14 large shrimps/prawns
2 Mackerel fillets
Approx 15 green beans, ends trimmed, cut to about 2" lengths
1/3 hot chili pepper (green and very spicy)
1/2 Onion, chopped

1. Boil Vegetable broth and Tom Yum Paste.
2. Add mackerel, beans, hot chili pepper, and onions. Simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add shrimps. When boiling, add coconut milk. Remove from stove when it starts boiling again.

Unless you like your Tom Yum soup to be spicy, i think i'd omit the chili pepper. The soup tasted just right when I had just made it, but I guess overnight, it got really spicy. Not so spicy that you won't feel your tongue or anything crazy like that, but enough to make your nose runny. I also think I want to put some bamboo shoots and basil leaf in it next time. The shrimps were a little overcooked and chewy. I have to find out how restaurants always have their shrimp so good in the soup. hey probably only add the shrimp right before serving. I'd make this soup again with those changes. It was really tasty and a great winter soup. Not a soup for sissies.

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimps were on sale a few weeks ago, so I found a shrimp scampi recipe. Before this, I always thought of scampi as a species of lobster, but after searching it on wikipedia, I discovered that it is often known as a cooking method in the US. Scampi is often the menu name of a shrimp dish in Italian-American cuisine. It is a dish of shrimp served in garlic butter and dry white wine served with bread and/or pasta. The word "scampi" is often construed as that style of preparation rather than an ingredient, with that preparation being called "shrimp scampi", and with variants such as "chicken scampi".




1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, sliced (more if you like it)
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup white wine
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Parsley flakes for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add angel hair pasta and return pot to boil. Cook until al dente. Drain well.


2. In a large saucepan, melt butter, saute garlic until tender, remove garlic and discard or keep if you prefer. Add shrimp and cook until colored pink. Stir in white wine. The bread crumbs are used as thickening, so stir in a little at a time until desired thickness is reached.


3. Serve shrimp over angel hair pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Man! This stuff was yummy, but so heavy. I scaled down the recipe to serve only myself, since Kev was at work when I made this for lunch at home. I put in extra garlic with a dash of garlic powder too. I also kept the garlic slices in the dish instead of discarding them. I love garlic. If you don't have dry white wine, some people recommend using chicken broth. I used plain breadcrumbs, but i've read reviews where people used italian seasoned breadcrumbs, but I didn't want to mix flavors.

New Year's Eve Dinner: Honey-Ginger Salmon with Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans and and Roasted Sweet Peppers & Potatoes *phew*

For New Years Eve, Kev and I decided to stay home for dinner. We've just been busy with friends and family for Christmas that we feel tired and neglected. I know we're physically together all the time, but it's not the same. For NYE, I really wanted to make something new, but still simple. I didn't want to slave in the kitchen all evening. With all the turkey we've been having, I was craving fish or seafood...and of course, a lot of veggies. So I looked up recipes on my favorite recipe site; allrecipes.com. I love it because I like reading the reviews. There's always tips on how to improve recipes. I'm constantly on that website, even when i'm not really looking for something to make within the week. I took a look at my recipe book today and found a salmon recipe that I had never tried, but saved. I really liked using honey as a marinade on the chicken I had made before, so why not on salmon?




1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 green onion, chopped
1 (1 1/2-pound) salmon fillet

1. In a large self-closing plastic bag, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, orange juice, honey, and green onion; mix well. Place salmon in bag and seal tightly. Turn bag gently to distribute marinade. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes (I marinated overnight).
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
3. Remove salmon from marinade, shake off excess, and discard remaining marinade. Grill for 12 to 15 minutes per inch of thickness, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

I'll admit, I wasn't too sure aboutt he salmon, but it came out nicely. It tasted very nice. However, I think I might use a bit less orange juice the next time I make it. I also added some dehydrated garlic slices, along with the garlic powder. I forgot to buy fresh garlic, I thought I had some in the fridge. Reviews recommended using fresh garlic.

For the side dish, I really wanted vegetables. Not just for me, but for Kevin too. He refuses to eat veggies. It's impossible! In one of the reviews from the salmon recipe, someone said they served their salmon with Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans. I'm not quite sure why they are Japanese style...just because of the sesame? Really?!? Well...anyway...I decided to give it a try. This is the original recipe.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound fresh green beans, washed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Warm a large skillet or wok over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in canola and sesame oils, then place whole green beans into the skillet. Stir the beans to coat with oil. Cook until the beans are bright green and slightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in soy sauce; cover, and let sit about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

I didn't have any sesame seeds at home, so I just omitted it. I want to say that the recipeis asking for a lot of oil. I'd cut down on it. I also added a bit of sugar and probably cooked it longer, which is why it looks burned, but it might just be the suagr caramelizing. These were reallly good, despite their appearance.

In addition to the green beans, I had a craving for some sweet potato. So I just roasted them with the sad looking orange pepper in my fridge and some onions. Originally I wanted to make it the same way as I did with the roasted regular potatoes & carrots from previous post, but wasn't sure if Thyme and Rosemary spice would be too strong. I wanted the salmon to be center stage. So I kept the roasted dish simple.

• 1 1/2 Orange sweet Pepper, chopped
• 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
• 2 Sweet Potatoes, cubed
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat to 400F. Mix all ingredients. Pour everything on a baking sheet (with foil or parchment paper) or greased casserole dish. Bake for 20 min. Take out, move them around. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Bake for another 20 min. Peppers and onions will shrivel, but don't let it burn.

These were yummy, except i used a little too much olive oil. Next time i'll be careful.

The dinner didn't turn out 100% like I wanted it to, but it was still quite good. We had enough salmon and roasted sweet pepper & potatoes for lunch the next day.

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

In my previous post, I said I served the Salmon with lemon and herb top crust with some roasted potatoes and carrots. It's such a simple recipe, but my only complaint is that it takes a while to roast. The first time Kev had it, he thought i used frozen home potatoes. It's a relatively healthy side dish...When I made it with the salmon, Rachelle really liked it.

3 potatoes, cubed

1 red onion chopped

2 carrots sliced, medium thickness

Olive oil

onion powder

salt & pepper

dried thyme

dried rosemary

1. Preheat to 400F. Mix all ingredients. Pour everything on a baking sheet (with foil or parchment paper) or greased casserole dish. Bake for 20 min. Take out, move them around. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Bake for another 20 min. Carrots and onions will shrivel, but don't let it burn.

It's a really easy side dish to make. And it's really hard to mess up. You can add pretty much whatever spice you like. Maybe some cayenne pepper to spice it up? Or make it a garlic potato...i've been in a thyme phase. So I just use it in prettu much everything these days.

Creamy Cajun Risotto and Smoked Salmon

Since we had half a pack of smoked salmon left in the fridge from the other day, we wanted to use it up before it dries out. I looked up online for a recipe with smoked salmon, but I kept coming up with pasta, chowder, or hors d'oeuvres. On the train ride home, I remembered I have one of those fast sidekick-type risotto mix in my cupboard. So I ditched the parmesan seasoning mix (with dehydrated milk products) and used the aborio rice that came in it. I used whatever I had in the fridge to make it. Here's my improv meal:



1 cup of cream
3/4 cup of milk
1 cup water
1tbsp of cajun spice*
1 cup of aborio rice (approx)
dehydrated garlic or 1 garlic bulb
1 tsp of butter

* Make your own cajun spice (makes 1 tbsp)

1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Dried basil
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1. On medium heat, melt butter in a pan, add aborio rice and coat with butter.
2. Add liquids (cream, milk, water), stir.
3. Add Cajun spice and garlic. Turn up to high heat until it boils.
4. Once boiling, lower to low-medium on a slow simmer. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. If liquids evaporate before rice is done, add more liquids (I added water). Stir constantly.
5. once done, let it sit for 5 minutes and serve with smoked salmon on the side.

The amount of liquids you use really depends on how much rice you have. I based my liquid on how much was required on the box. It asked for 2 1/2 cups of liquid, but I guess cream counts a bit less. I had to add 1/2 cup of water midway through. I made my own cajun spice and I think i'll use less cayenne pepper next time. It was quite spicy. Other than that, i think it went well. Kev had no comment because he didn't have any. He thinks it's too fancy and weird, so he had cream cheese and smoked salmon on bread. lol

Risotto is actually a lot easier to make than i thought. The only thing is that it requires a lot of attention. You need to constantly stir it.

Chunky Cream of Potato Soup

I'm carb queen. I'm pretty sure that if I gave up carbs, i'd lose a lot of weight, however, I just love carbs too much...One of the ultimate comfort foods for me is a nice bowl of potato soup. It's just sinful. One of my favorite places to have potato soup is at Baton Rouge. Last week, when Kev and I were trying to decide what to have for supper, I had suggested a soup dinner. Kev was hesitant because he was afraid it wouldn't be filling. Potato soup is extrememly filling. I just had this for lunch in a tupperware of about 2 cups of soup and i'm about to fall into a coma. I can hardly eat the celery sticks i brought in. Finally, that night, we didn't have soup dinner. we had steak. So the other night I decided to make it while he had his leftover char siu from Chinatown. I found the original recipe online, but tweeked it a little. This is the first time i've made my own potato soup.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 small carrot, chopped
2 garlic bulbs
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk/half & half/ cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley/ dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt (more if needed)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
dash of garlic powder
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese / cheddar
bacon bits (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, onion, carrot, celery and broth + water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender; lightly mash.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into potato mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add parsley, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add bacon optional.

When I made the recipe, I only had one can of chicken broth in the pantry. It's about a bit over a cup of liquids. So I topped the required 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth with water, but the liquids hardly covered the vegetables that need to be tender enough to mash. So I added an extra cup and half. Knowing this would make the soup more bland, I had to add more salt. At this point, it's taste over health. I'll try a healthier version of this soup on my second try. I added dried thyme to the recipe for more taste and a dash of garlic powder. I also chopped some garlic and probably added more celery than needed. The result was absolutely delicious. I had co-wrokers try my soup and one said it's restaurant quality and another said i should open my own restaurant. LOL I'll call it Carb City. LOL

Roasted Garlic

A few years ago, I went out for Pho with a friend. She picked out the sliced onions out of the soup onto the discard plate. I grabbed it and put it into my soup. The onion slices is the best part! I love anything that makes my breath smell. lol She told me my love for stinky breath food will change when I have a boyfriend. The same thing was said to me about having my boyfriend hold my purse. Now, two years into my relationship...I still love to eat stinky breath food and I hold my own purse.



I had some friends over for dinner this past weekend. I made the Haddock recipe I blogged about. I wasn't sure what I should make for appetizer. I thought about making seafood papillotte, but decided it might be expensive to buy shrimp and scallop. And I didn't want to overload my guests on seafood. I remembered my co-worker Mary talking about roasting garlic and spreading it on french baguette with butter. It was so delicious! It's really not as garlicky as you would expect, but it does give you that wonderful garlic breath.

• Head of garlic
• Olive oil
• Fresh cracker pepper
• Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the garlic head to reveal the garlic cloves
3. Drizzle Olive Oil on top of the garlic
4. Sprinkle with pepper and salt
5. Wrap it in aluminium foil, place it on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 40-45 min.

I served the garlic heads on the table and let them scoop out the cloves with their butter knives. My friends didn't know what to do when they saw the garlic heads. One of them actually stared at it and said "This is new..." I guess it's new to Asians. lol This brings garlic bread to a whole new level of adoration for me. Just thinking about it is making me salivate.

Roasted Ratatouille Pasta

Since learning that I like to try new recipes, it has opened up a wide range of conversation topics between me and some co-workers. Over the summer, my co-worker Mary told me about roasted Garlic. As many know, I love anything that makes my breath smell. Garlic and Onions are my favorite. Needless to say, I was all ears when Mary told me how to make roasted garlic and what i could do with it. Then she mentioned a new recipe she had just tried and recommended i try it since it has the roasted garlic in it. It was a recipe she got from the Rachael Ray Show. I honestly have never watched her show...her voice just annoys me...how do I know if I haven't seen the show...from those dumb Dunkin' Donuts commercials. One night, I was watching TV with Kev and that commercial came up. Midway through the commercial, Kev exclaimed "she has an annoying voice". Right then, I knew Kev and I were meant to be together. LOL

Recipes with several steps, I reserve for quiet weekends. I can better cook in peace without having to stress that i don't have the food on the table in less than 30 minutes. The only Ratatouille I've ever seen is on the Disney movie Ratatouille. lol I imagined having to slice everthing into thin slices...but I didn't need to slice anything. Well, here's the recipe:

• Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)for drizzling
• 1 head garlic
• 1 medium eggplant, ends removed, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 2 to 3 medium zucchini, ends removed, quartered and into small chunks
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeds removed and cut into small chunks
• 1 large onion, cut into small chunks
• 4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound whole wheat penne
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup (a large handful) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to pass at the table
  

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF
2. Cut a sliver off the top of the garlic head just large enough to expose the cloves. Tear off a large square of aluminum foil and place the garlic in the center. Drizzle a small amount of EVOO over the head and wrap the foil up around it. Place in the oven and roast until golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes.
3. While the garlic is roasting, cut up the veggies and place everything except the tomatoes on one or two large baking sheets, along with the thyme leaves.
4. Once the garlic has been roasting for about 15 minutes, drizzle the veggies with EVOO and season them with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast them in the oven until tender and caramelized, about 30 minutes.
5. Once the veggies have been in the oven about 10 minutes, place the tomatoes onto another baking sheet, drizzle them with EVOO and hit them with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss them into the oven with the other veggies and roast until they've burst and shriveled up slightly, 15-20 minutes.
6. Once the veggies have about 10 minutes left to go, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook to al dente according to package directions. Before draining the pasta, ladle about 3/4 cup or so of the pasta cooking liquid into a large serving bowl. Drain the pasta and reserve.
7. Once the garlic is done roasting, allow it to cool enough to handle, then hold the head in your hand over the bowl with the pasta water and squeeze out all of the roasted cloves into the bowl. Add the tomatoes and mash everything together.
8. Add the roasted veggies, drained pasta, parsley and grated Parmigiano to the bowl and toss it all to combine.
9. Pass some additional Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table along with the bowl of pasta.
   

Now for my review...the recipe was a bit bland. But in its defense, I completely forgot to put the thyme in, even though i had bought some. I also omitted eggplants, because we just don't care for them. I had to sprinkle some more salt and added more cheese. Other than that, it's a decent and simple recipe. However, next time, i'll double the roasted garlic...I could hardly taste it. After roasting the garlic, my kitchen was deliciously fragant of garlic...mouth watering. Once i squeezed the garlic out, i just wanted to spread it on a baguette with butter...hmmm...