my house smells of Gahlic

Dinner has been over for 12+ hours and the house still smells, strongly, of garlic.

I suppose that's not a surprise. It was the theme ingredient last night. I think I burned through 16 cloves...for three people.

So...we had pasta. I had one container of gravy left in my freezer so that was perfect. And hot Italian sausage. Yummy. We also had the garlic bread about which I've already posted. The new and, IMHO, fabulous part of the dinner was the garlic salad dressing. Josh and I watched an episode of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals where she made this. She calls it Pan Roasted Garlic Dressing.

Ingredients

• 10 gloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 hearts Romaine lettuce
• Grated romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

In a small skillet, combine the garlic cloves and the oil. Over a low heat, caramelize the garlic until browned and soft, about 20 minutes.

Transfer garlic cloves to a blender or food processor. Add the vinegar and mustard. Blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the reserved garlic oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and put in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the lettuce and toss to coat. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and serve immediately.

Okay, I forgot to to sprinkle the cheese. And I used more vinegar. But it was really good. I mean really, really good.

That's all for now folks. Not only have I entertained to the nth degree this week, but his is 2 posts in a row.

Don't get too used to it. I'm aux pio next month. Little time for blogs. So I'll put this question to you now--Got any fabulous do-ahead, hand held, appetizer or dessert recipes? The DDCP is coming up very, very quickly.