One of the first meals I cooked for my family was Silver Palate's chicken marabella. Which, as it so happens, calls for a whole head of freshly pureed garlic. It took me a long time to fix everything just right. While my family was out and about, I put the dish into the oven, excited for them to return to a delicious dinner.
The following events were inevitable.
No amount of aerating my kitchen could have saved me from what was bound to happen.
My dad entered the house in horror. It reeked of garlic. Even I felt a little nauseated, and I love garlic. My mom politely ate the dish that everyone else feared. It was good, really good, but I was so upset about the whole fiasco that I couldn't enjoy my own hard work.
What is it about garlic?
It seems as though you either love it or you hate it. So many people fear it while others absolutely worship it.
Anthony Bourdain put it on his list of kitchen must haves in his book, Kitchen Confidential. Calling it "divine" he also stressed that it must be treated correctly. I obviously misused garlic and have sincerely learned my lesson. Rather than abandoning the food in total, I am now determined to cook a good meal with garlic that not even my family could resist.
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