5 Days of Garlic Gold

Herbed Popovers made glorious with a gremolata-inspired infusion of Garlic Gold olive oil and herbed garlic nuggets.

About a month ago, I was talking to my big brother — the one who could sell ice to an Eskimo — and he was going on and on (and on) about this great new brand called Garlic Gold.  He was so engrossed in highlighting every delicious detail of their hand-crafted olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette and  various garlic nuggets that I almost didn’t have the heart to tell him that not only was I not a fan of garlic but I also take every chance I get to convince home cooks to use less garlic (oh, yes, I went there).  As I said, I almost didn’t have the heart!  And to my argument, I added that as a “chef” and a purist, I just wouldn’t use convenience products; I make my own!  Never one to shy away from a challenge, my brother spent the next half hour trying to convince me that I’d really flip over these products.  You see, not only is my bro a fan, he recently signed Garlic Gold as a client for his very cool in-store demo program (full disclosure).

After hearing his exuberant pitch and noticing the battery on my mobile was about to fail me, I decided to offer up a challenge.  I’d give the products a try and, if I liked them enough, I’d develop some recipes and post them for my very discerning readers.  I mean, hey, if an avowed garlic avoider could like a product like Garlic Gold, it’s got to be a winner, right?  With mere moments left before mobile meltdown, we agreed to get the ball rolling on this test.  In less than 24 hours, Kathy from Garlic Gold had sent me an email and I had some products to test within the week.

I returned home after a long day at the office to find a box from Garlic Gold.  I greedily (but still apprehensively) tore into the box to find  5 different products: Garlic Gold Oil (a combination of organic toasted garlic nuggets and organic extra virgin olive oil), Garlic Gold Balsamic Vinaigrette and three types of nugget condiments— Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets, Garlic Gold Italian Herb Nuggets and Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets.  I immediately cracked opened the Vinaigrette for a quick marinade for chicken breasts. Next, I dug into the Garlic Gold Oil, did a quick finger taste and decided to drizzle a little on some crusty bread.  WOW!  Delicious.  I was surprised and delighted with how fresh it tasted — not at all overpowering.  So surprised, in fact, that I decided I would take the next five days and develop a recipe a day around the five products the good people from Garlic Gold sent to me.

The best part?  Garlic Gold is giving an incentive to Word of Mouth readers so you can get these yummy products delivered right to your doorstep — at a 20% discount!!  Just go to garlicgold.com to save on your next shipment of precious gold.  Follow the recipes below or make up your own.  This stuff is awesome tossed with greens, as a marinade for your favorite meat or fish or sprinkled over home-popped popcorn.  This is one product you definitely want to check out!

I recently spent a stunning spring day with my niece exploring the Union Square Farmer’s Market and Little Italy — a perfect day that yielded a treasure trove of fun items (creamy pheasant eggs!) that I turned into my new favorite pasta dish.

Recipe:  Sweet Fig Sausage and Garlic Gold Ragu with Fresh Ricotta, Poached Pheasant Egg served over House-made Pappardelle

Serves:  4

Ingredients

1 lb. homemade sweet sausage (I chose a chef-inspired house blend that included pork sausage and figs), casings removed and crumbled

1 c. fresh packed basil, chopped

1 tsp. Garlic Gold Garlic Nuggets

3 Tbl. Garlic Gold Olive Oil

1 tsp. Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets

4 pheasant eggs (or similar, small egg like quail)

1 c. fresh ricotta (in NYC, there’s nowhere else to go but DiPalo’s in NYC’s Little Italy)

1 lb. homemade Pappardelle pasta

1/4 - 1/2 c. fresh grated Romano or Parmesan

Salt and fresh pepper to taste

Prepare

Add a pinch of salt to water in a 6 quart stock pot and bring to boil.  In a 12” skillet, heat olive oi over medium high heat.  Add garlic nuggets and stir for 30 seconds.  Add sausage and cook through, add basil and 1 Tbl. Garlic Gold Parmesan Cheese Nuggets.   Meanwhile, add fresh pasta to boiling water (if it’s fresh, it shouldn’t need to cook for more than 5 minutes). Reduce heat and cover.

Drain pasta by removing from pot with tongs or slotted spoon. Keep the boil.  Drain in a colander and add to sausage ragu.  Cover.  Poach the eggs in the boiling pasta water.  You can do this in an egg poacher or gently crack the eggs so they “float” on the water.  Poach for 3 minutes or until desired doneness.

To serve, mound pasta on a flat plate or shallow bowl.  Top with 1/4 c. of fresh ricotta and top with poached egg.  Add salt and fresh cracked pepper and top with grated cheese.

A Farmer’s Market Jackpot:  Lima Bean, Radish and Arugula Salad with Ramp Pesto.

This simple, delicious and versatile salad gets its boost from seasonal ramps and a beautiful blend of Garlic Gold Olive Oil and pistachio nuts.  To make this a main course, I added canned Alder wood smoked Albacore tuna.  Try leeks for a year round alternative.

Recipe:  Ramp Pesto

Makes approximately 1 cup

Ingredients

1 cup chopped ramps (or leeks)

1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts

1 cup Garlic Gold Olive Oil

1 Tbl. fresh lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Prepare

In a food processor, combine ramps (or leeks) and pistachio nuts and slowly add in the olive oil and lemon juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe:  Garlic Herbed Popovers

Makes:  12 Popovers (2 batches of a 6-tin popover tin or muffin pan)

Ingredients

12 tsp. Garlic Gold olive oil

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1 Tbl. butter

1 tsp. salt

1 c. flour

1 Tbl. Garlic Gold Italian Herb Nuggets

Prepare

Preheat oven to 425°.  Drizzle approximately 1 tsp. Garlic Gold olive oil in each of the 6 popover tins or large muffin pan and place in oven while mixing batter.

Beat together 2 eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt.  Add flour a quarter cup at a time and add 1 tsp. or the herb nuggets.  Beat until mixture is smooth.  Remove popover tin and fill each cup halfway with the batter.  Sprinkle the tops with the herb nuggets  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes and reduce heat to 350°.  Bake 15 more minutes until popovers are puffed and brown.  Don’t open the oven door to check until the popovers have been baking for at least 30 minutes.  Remove from tins and serve hot.

Garlic Gold Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette makes a great marinade for chicken or served straight up in a salad.  I got funky and created Balsamic Glazed Grapefruit (above and shown earlier in a salad with Garlic Gold Balsamic Chicken, Mizuna Greens and Pepitas roasted with Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets).

A great addition to salads, soups or snacks.  Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) roasted with a splash of Garlic Gold Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette and sprinkled with Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets. 

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