Homemade Garlic Spread

Fancy up your French baguette with this amazingly easy garlic spread! You'll wow your guests & feel surprisingly accomplished- you just made homemade garlic bread! Woohoo! 

Time: 1 hour 

Ingredients:

• 1 bulb garlic  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil  

Recipe: 

1. Cut the top off the wide end of the garlic bulb so that the ends are exposed. Remember to leave the skin on (you can throw away any shell that falls off).
   
2. Rip enough foil paper to completely cover the garlic, and place the bulb in the center of the foil, exposed side face up.
3. Coat the op with olive oil, and close it so there's a tent at the top. 
4. Roast the garlic on 425 for 40 mins, or until the garlic is soft.
   
5. Open the foil and let the garlic cool for 15 mins.​
6. Place the butter in a bowl and soften to room temperature. ​
7. Take the cooled garlic & ​squeeze it out of the shell, into the butter. It should be very easy to do this, and the garlic will be mushy. If it isn't, you can put it back to roast longer. 
8. Add in the parsley & mix to incorporate all of the ingredients. ​
9. Now, you can spread the mixture over toasted bread, sprinkle on black pepper & serve! ​
   

Rainbow Trout With My Lemony-Garlic White Wine Sauce

I had this with some rainbow fettuccine pasta- delicious and easy! 

Time: 40 mins  

Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of rainbow trout- skin on, cleaned. 
• 2 tablespoons butter for frying the fish (1 tablespoon for each piece)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/2 teaspoon black pepper for seasoning the trout. 

For the sauce:

• 1 cup white wine (I used a Bordeaux)
• 3 cloves garlic 
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon black pepper & 1 teaspoon sea salt

Serving suggestion:

• 1 cup fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente

Recipe:

1. Heat a frying pan with a tablespoon of butter to high heat. 
2. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/2 teaspoon black pepper on the trout.
3. Pan-sear the trout on both sides, about 3-5 mins on each side). Repeat with the 2nd fish.
4. Slice the garlic cloves and chop the parsley (leave a few behind leaves for garnish)
5. In a medium - large saucepan, melt the butter and garlic until the garlic is slightly browned.
6. Add the white wine and lemon juice, salt and pepper - bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 mins so it reduces to about half.
7. Plate the pasta, place the trout on top, pour sauce over the trout & drink the rest of the wine with this meal!

*Watch out for the bones! Slice horizontally so you can remove easily, all at once.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Here's a perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving table!  SO easy to make, and very difficult to mess up. 

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 3 large potatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• 1.5 teaspoons finely chopped chives
• 4 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup fat-free milk (I used fat-free Lactaid)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper

Recipe:

1. Scrub potatoes thoroughly, leaving on as much of the skin as you can.
2. Add 3 cups of water and half of the salt to a medium-large pot - bring to a boil.
3. When the water is boiling, add the potatoes and cover them - let them boil until they start to pop open a little, about 30 mins (this makes it really easy to mash them!). 
4. Strain the potatoes, but put the pot back on the stove so the water dries out.
5. In the dried pot, add the garlic slices and butter - let it melt for about 30 seconds. 
6. Add the potatoes back into the pot, the milk, remaining salt, black pepper, and chives.
7. Mix the potatoes continuously allowing all of the ingredients to incorporate.   You want to press down any lumps of potato so the mixture is smooth.  This should take about 5 mins if the potatoes boiled long enough.
8. Sprinkle a little smoked paprika for garnish (optional) and enjoy!

Steamed Mussels in a Lemony-Garlic White Wine Sauce

How much do you pay for a mussels appetizer at a restaurant?  $11? $14? Some places in NYC even charge over $20!  Today I bought a bag of PEI mussels from ShopRite for $4.99! 

Of course you have to do a little work, scrubbing them and cooking them yourself.  But hey, if you can save a few bucks, it's worth it!   Recipe below, enjoy!

Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 bag PEI mussels
• 1/2 bottle white wine (I used a Bordeaux)
• 4 cloves garlic (use 2 cloves if you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 handful fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 French Baguette to compliment the mussels
• 1 teaspoon black pepper & 1 teaspoon sea salt

Recipe:

1. Scrub the mussels thoroughly, throwing out any that are not fully closed or have cracks in them. Set them aside. 
2. Slice the garlic cloves and chop 1/2 of the parsley (leave a few behind leaves for garnish)
3. In a medium - large saucepan, melt the butter and garlic until the garlic is slightly browned.
4. Add the white wine and lemon juice, salt and pepper - bring to a boil. 
5. Add the mussels into the pot carefully, to avoid breaking them (I used a strainer-spoon so that I could place them lightly without getting burned).
6. Cover the pot and let the mussels steam for about 4-5 mins or until they pop open.
7. While the mussels are steaming, cut the French baguette into diagonal slices, or however you want them shaped.
8. Toast the bread in a 350 degree oven for about 5 mins or as crispy as desired.
9. Place the mussels in a bowl that will hold the sauce, but leave the sauce in the pan and let simmer for another 10 mins so it reduces to about half. 
10. Devour the mussels, dip the bread in the sauce, & drink the rest of the wine with this meal!

Serving suggestion:  I wanted a light dinner so I had this by itself; you can serve it over a plate of linguini cooked al dente.  The sauce will go great with the pasta and it will make for a more filling meal!