I will bet you don't think you need three pounds of peeled garlic? Am I right? Yes, I thought so. But I wouldn't be asking the question if there wasn't a catch. You need three pounds of peeled garlic, because that is the smallest size, and at Costco, the three pound jar of Christopher Ranch garlic is only about five bucks anyway, and when garlic is a convenience food (and when you have three pounds of it, it is VERY convenient) there are neat things you can and will do with it.
I know, I know, you don't have to roll your eyes at me and look away as though I were crazy. I'm serious. For instance, if you have three pounds of peeled garlic, you can make garlic confit. Actually, you can make a reasonable amount of garlic confit about twenty-five times.
Garlic confit is raw garlic that has been slowly cooked submerged in oil. It loses its harshness and becomes soft, mild and nutty. Take 30 to 40 peeled garlic cloves (see why a jar of peeled garlic is useful?) and put them in a small sauce pan. Cover the cloves with neutral oil like canola, and heat until you see small streams of bubbles rising through the oil. You will need very low heat to keep the oil from boiling -- a diffuser is handy. Cook the garlic until it turns golden and rises to the top of the oil. This will take about 40 minutes. Strain the oil into a container and save in the refrigerator for when you need some "garlic oil" for a salad dressing or a condiment. Save the garlic cloves in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Now what? Well, you can make Thomas Keller's "Spinach Sautéed with Garlic Confit." For four servings, start with about a pound of washed baby spinach (Costco is a great place to get this, too). Get your biggest skillet and melt three TBS of butter in it. Add one-quarter cup of minced shallots and cook for a minute or two to soften. Add eight cloves of the garlic confit and smash them up. Add as much spinach as will easily fit in the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Use tongs to turn the spinach while it sautés. When the spinach wilts enough to make room, add more spinach, tasting and seasoning as necessary. Don't overcook. Serve immediately. You'll love it.
(Spinach recipe adapted from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Cookbook).
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