Do you have a kitchen utensil that you are overly attached to?
Ah, I remember it like it was just yesterday. After all, doesn't every girl remember when they received their first garlic press? I recall it was the first white Christmas we had in a while. The snow glistened on the treetops as I pulled my Subaru into the driveway; tires caked with brown muddy snow. My head filled with memories of stumbling down the stairway with my terry cloth robe on as I plugged in our garage door code waking everyone up in the house with its opening. I got upstairs to the empty living room to find an unlit fake tree. There is something just oh so un magical about having to drive yourself to your parents house on Christmas morning. A struggle I imagine many in their mid twenties endure. But there under that unlit fake tree was a rectangular box. "Oh what can it be? I shouted with glee." (Sorry, it's October 1st, I'm just getting in the holiday spirit clearly.) There in that rectangular box lay an item that marked a rite of passage. You Jennifer, have reached the moment in time, where you have earned the $40 William Sonoma garlic press. Throw away your plastic TJ max version along with your youth. You are an adult now.
Believe it or not, this garlic press is actually a thing in my family. My mom stumbled upon its beauty in the mall one day and we marveled at its ability to forcibly press garlic with ease. To say that garlic was a staple in my house growing up would be the understatement of the year. We had a refrigerator in our garage that housed massive amounts of pre-peeled garlic. In fact, I'm embarrassed to admit that I am actually really unfamiliar with actual garlic cloves because my family always had it in bulk from Sam's Club. Even my friends became aware of this and avoided my garage in fear that that the pungent odor would taint their clothes. My mother, in attempts to mask the smell, lined our garage with cups of baking soda. This of course also became a joke amongst my friends who claimed that we not only were harboring massive amounts of garlic in our garage, but we also were smuggling in cocaine. My neighbor was so familiar with the obsession that we actually gifted her the magical garlic press so she too, can experience luxury.
So clearly, garlic and its press were engrained into my memories growing up. One of the most common uses of this press (featured in the above photo) was when my mother would make big batches of salad dressing. I love her so much for the fact that every single day growing up my mom would make our family individual salads to go along with our dinner. We all had our own and we all had our own preferences. To this day she can recite who preferred black olives over kalamata, who wanted feta, who wanted gorgonzola. I don't think we give her enough credit for this. The one constant to our family salads was the dressing. Never wavered. This recipe even came from my grandma who I swear made it better than my mom (sorry mom) and I swear my mom makes it better than me. One day I hope my daughter thinks I make it better than her. That will be the day, I gift her with her very own garlic press (granted Williams Sonoma is still in business)
Believe it or not, this garlic press is actually a thing in my family. My mom stumbled upon its beauty in the mall one day and we marveled at its ability to forcibly press garlic with ease. To say that garlic was a staple in my house growing up would be the understatement of the year. We had a refrigerator in our garage that housed massive amounts of pre-peeled garlic. In fact, I'm embarrassed to admit that I am actually really unfamiliar with actual garlic cloves because my family always had it in bulk from Sam's Club. Even my friends became aware of this and avoided my garage in fear that that the pungent odor would taint their clothes. My mother, in attempts to mask the smell, lined our garage with cups of baking soda. This of course also became a joke amongst my friends who claimed that we not only were harboring massive amounts of garlic in our garage, but we also were smuggling in cocaine. My neighbor was so familiar with the obsession that we actually gifted her the magical garlic press so she too, can experience luxury.
So clearly, garlic and its press were engrained into my memories growing up. One of the most common uses of this press (featured in the above photo) was when my mother would make big batches of salad dressing. I love her so much for the fact that every single day growing up my mom would make our family individual salads to go along with our dinner. We all had our own and we all had our own preferences. To this day she can recite who preferred black olives over kalamata, who wanted feta, who wanted gorgonzola. I don't think we give her enough credit for this. The one constant to our family salads was the dressing. Never wavered. This recipe even came from my grandma who I swear made it better than my mom (sorry mom) and I swear my mom makes it better than me. One day I hope my daughter thinks I make it better than her. That will be the day, I gift her with her very own garlic press (granted Williams Sonoma is still in business)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl and pour into a dressing container. Or, combined all ingredients in a jar. Close the lid and shake until ingredients combine together.
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl and pour into a dressing container. Or, combined all ingredients in a jar. Close the lid and shake until ingredients combine together.
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