Mojo de Ajo

This stuff is so good... I first saw it on Rick Bayless' show on PBS, but I've adapted it a bit. I always have some in the fridge, in fact I have a batch cooling right now! It takes a bit of time to peel the garlic, but I do it in front of the TV so it doesn't feel so bad, and then it adds a whole new level of flavor to even the quickest meal. Give it a try and you'll always want some around...

Ingredients:
6 heads of garlic
enough olive oil to cover the garlic
2-3 limes
a small can of chipotle peppers
salt & pepper

Tools/equipment
big knife
cutting board
pyrex pan
masher (mine is an "avocado" masher, but a potato masher will work just fine)

Directions:
0. preheat the oven to 350*F
1. you need to peel all the garlic... it's really easy to peel garlic if you smash each clove with the broad side of the knife. I like to get a head worth cloves in a pile then smash each one, then peel them.
2. put the garlic in a pyrex. I use a square one, or even my glass pie pan. You want the garlic to make one layer all the way across the bottom.
3. pour the olive oil over the garlic until they're all just barely under oil.
4. cook in the oven for 45 minutes
5. take it out of the oven and add about 2 chipotles chopped up. You might try to remove the seeds because they can be really REALLY spicey. Also add the juice of the 2-3 limes. Mash the whole thing as much as you can, add some salt and pepper.
6. cook for 15 more minutes then leave it out until it's cool. Put it in a tupperware in the fridge.

So far I can use this for a few weeks and I always finish it off so I don't know how long it takes to go bad. Garlic is good at killing bad organisms so this should stay good longer than the average food.

What to do with Mojo de Ajo...
1. Spread it to make the perfect garlic bread.
2. use the oil part in place of olive oil in any recipe.
3. use the garlic part in place of garlic in a lot of recipes.
4. Add it by the scoop to any pasta dish
5. put in a pan then add a whole can of black beans. cook it up and smash it with your smasher and you get delicious garlic-y refried beans

I think there are an infinite number of uses... so delicious!!!

Get your rub on for valentines day...

You've picked up the steaks for valentines day, but you want it to be perfect... steak is great, but add a little flavor by creating your own dry spice rub. I made this today and it was DELICIOUS...

Ingredients for your steak rub* (this worked today for about 6 very small steaks)

• 1 tbs coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tbs large salt crystals (kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt)
• 1 tbs dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbs paprika
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tsp red pepper (you can use crushed or ground)
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

All you need to do is

1. mix the spices together
2. pour the spice mix onto a plate and spread it out (reserve some for later if you're only cooking for 2)
   
3. pat the steaks dry with a paper towel
4. roll the steaks around in the rub until the whole thing is covered in the delicious goodness
   
5. grill to perfection!

we also added a little bit of gorgonzola cheese to the top of the steak... don't over do it because Gorgonzola is strong, but a perfect flavor boost to any steak.

We had Brussels sprouts as a side... just rinse and quarter them then saute them up! If you cook some bacon or prosciutto in advance you can use some of their leftover grease to saute the Brussels sprouts then crumble the bacon or prosciutto on top! YUMMMMM

*** If you don't have one of the ingredients just substitute something similar or leave it out! The two most important ingredients for a steak rub are the salt and pepper, but otherwise just mix together what sounds good! This isn't too spicy, but you can always use less of the red pepper, paprika and cayenne if you're worried about spice.