One of the first topics we tackled after launching this Kitchen Talk series was onions, and what a wealth of information you shared there! But I can’t believe we haven’t talked about garlic yet, because onions and garlic are just as much a staple in many kitchens as salt and pepper. And as far as I’m concerned, there’s no such thing as too much garlic.

So let’s remedy that oversight right now! We want to know:

Do you have any garlic tips and tricks to share?

One of my most recent discoveries relates to the photo above. I was preparing a recipe that only called for a few cloves of roasted garlic, and I read somewhere that you can dry roast peeled cloves on a hot skillet over medium heat, occasionally jostling the cloves around, until parts of the peel are charred. Take the cloves off heat, let them cool a bit, and you’re done! The garlic isn’t quite as sweet as the garlic roasted in an oven with olive oil, but it’s pretty darn close—and much more convenient and quicker.

That’s my tip for today! How about you? Any tips for storing or keeping garlic? Advice on safely making—and storing—your own fresh minced garlic paste? Easy peeling? Slicing? Tricks to eliminating that overpowering garlic odor? Any favorite dishes that highlight this wonderful bulb? Funny stories about garlic festivals or inadvertent garlic overdose in the middle of a dinner date? Come share below!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

 
I’ve been cooking in a new kitchen for the past week now, and it’s been interesting trying to figure out where to put stuff. It’s been even more interesting remembering what I originally decided, which means I end up opening, oh, about 2 or 3 different drawers before I hit the jackpot.

One of the biggest challenges for me, storage-wise, has been where to store my knives. In my old kitchen, I had one of those slot-free knife blocks that let me insert a knife anywhere it could fit. But now my wall cabinets are a little closer to the counter, which means I can either store the block next to the wall and scrape my knuckles against the wall cabinets every time I grab a knife, or keep it away from the wall with an awkward empty space behind it. Neither option appealed to me (I happen to like my knuckles intact), so I went online in search of alternative knife storage solutions.

Who knew there were so many options to the traditional knife block? There were in-drawer blocks, some using cork, others with carved slots, magnetic strips that mount on the wall, knife blade guards, under-cabinet swiveling knife blocks … I half-expected to find a programmable Roomba-type unit that could fetch the proper knife for you from the pantry, linked to your iPhone so you can have Siri send it commands. Maybe that’s next year’s model.

So today I thought—a bit selfishly, I might add—that we can talk a bit about knife storage. Tell us:

What are your favorite tips and tricks for storing knives?

Do you have any favorite storage tools? A link to a photo somewhere with your dream knife storage setup? Any advice, or cautions against a particular method of storage? Or do you have a question that someone else might be able to answer for you? Come share below!

Let's talk about cleaning! Tell us:

We've all had our share of special meals or even just certain food items fraught with memories. We want to hear your stories!

Let's talk about crazy cake today! Tell us:

Have you tried crazy cake? Do you have any interesting variations on the classic chocolate version, or even tips on how to experiment with different flavors?

This week, we'll talk about "fast cookers" for a change, otherwise known as pressure cookers. These kitchen wonders harness the power of steam and pressure in an almost magical way, rendering tough cuts of meat so meltingly tender and flavorful.