I also have one of those metal rock-like things to take away the garlic smell, mostly because it's so astonishing that they work.

A stainless steel piece of cutlery also does this.

Does it taste/smell the same to you, Sail? I used to do that, but then I stopped liking it.

I use that stuff, for some things. It isn't as good, but I don't cook all that often, so my fresh garlic always seems to be sprouting or dried out by the time I go to use it. The jar is a lot easier.

Seanycakes, did you use fig preserves in the quesadillas?

Does it taste/smell the same to you

Pretty much. The only time I don't use it is if I'm roasting whole cloves (teh yum.) I think it sautes up nicer than what comes out of a garlic press. The trick is not to get the oil too hot. If you're searing something, put the garlic in the pan before you turn the heat on and keep it low for a while.

When I use my garlic press, I squish cloves right over what I'm cooking, so there's no juice loss. I'm only cooking for myself, though, so I guess my evil cooking habits won't offend anyone else.

I've gone back to garlic powder for making red sauces.

::cries and cries::

I stopped using a garlic press when Jacques Pepin went chop-chop-chop-smash and said with a polite gallic (not garlic) shrug, "Eh, you could use a press if you want..." and then let it be known that garlic presses were Totally Uncool by implication.

So I slice my garlic thin and chop it it up, then smash it with the flat of my blade and scoop it all into the pan or pot.

There is no substitute for fresh garlic. Period. Garlic powder or salt or euro garlic in a tube or minced in a jar - just a huge loss of flavor according to my tongue.

Best Garlic Scene In Film: Paul Sorvino in Goodfellas in prison slicing his garlic with a razor blade.

Pretty much. The only time I don't use it is if I'm roasting whole cloves (teh yum.) I think it sautes up nicer than what comes out of a garlic press. The trick is not to get the oil too hot. If you're searing something, put the garlic in the pan before you turn the heat on and keep it low for a while.

I haven't tried sauteeing fresh garlic on the new stove. On the old electric, I just didn't have enough control. I stopped using fresh when we moved here (old house had a gas stove).

I've always used really low temps, but haven't tried putting the garlic in the pan before turning on the heat, though. That's a good tip. Now I want to go cook something way too garlicky.

Okay, all the foodie talk has cemented it. I need to make a dinner around the house very soon. Something that isn't mac and cheese, and that involves much chopping of veggies.

What knives did you buy, Sean?

A pair of Calphalon forged (our previous knives were stamped) Santoku knives. One 7 inch and one 5 inch.

Seanycakes, did you use fig preserves in the quesadillas?

Yes. You can use real figs, but then you have to add sugar. I can get you the recipe I used later today to compare with the recipe I'm guessing you dug up somewhere else.

Also, I'll give you the recipe for the shrimp salad thingie, but it's more just a list of ingredients, and S played it by ear from there (something she does a lot).

Also, S just made some fresh scones and a fruit salad for breakfast. DELICIOUS!

I only wish we had some clotted cream.

::gets plane ticket to go have brekkie with Sean and S::

Hec, garlic salt is the devil's own sweat.

I prefer fresh garlic too, but in a red sauce (and mine is typically a meat sauce), the other flavors are such that you truly cannot tell the difference -- the secret is to use enough of the powder.

I do use fresh garlic in meatballs, too. I'd forgotten that. And in bracciole. And always in alio e olio (garlic and oil sauces).