Garlic, garlic… and more

Mike Peel, Wikimedia Commons

Roasted, caramelized garlic can be enjoyed as is, or used as a spread, in dips, soups, stews and mashed potatoes.

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The day before writing this, my oldest son and I celebrated our birthdays at the coast along Monterey Bay. Our birthday lunch was clam chowder and some garlic bread, along with a head of roasted garlic for each of us.

The bread was split ciabatta, slathered with ample butter, chopped fresh parsley, crushed garlic and some paprika and other seasonings. On top of that, each piece of garlic bread (we each got four), had about four large cloves of roasted garlic on top. So, we chose to celebrate our birthdays with garlic and more garlic.

We thoroughly enjoyed every bite. Plus, after our meal, the waiter stopped by our table with a huge piece of cheesecake to split between us, with a lit birthday candle on top, decorated with fresh strawberries and the rim of the plate had a fancy pattern of three dessert sauces. No charge, for our birthdays. That was a nice surprise (luckily, it was not garlic cheesecake).