Garlic is the king of all flavoring agents and condiments in many kitchens, and although garlic is nearly impossible to work into sweet recipes it works well in damn near every savory recipe ever created.
But many people avoid using fresh garlic because it's a pain to peel, too sticky and stinky to chop or crush, and hard to properly roast, and their dishes are left devoid of that great garlic flavor.
Luckily, there are simple solutions to all of these garlic problems- microwaving garlic cloves for about fifteen seconds will make peeling a snap, or you can just seal the cloves in a jar and shake vigorously until the skin falls away.
Roasted garlic is a delicious addition to salads, guacamole and other dips, or when spread on a piece of toast, but the roasting process can take about an hour which may be too long when you're making dinner.
So rather than waiting around for an hour throw the unpeeled garlic cloves in a cast iron skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally until they're cooked evenly on all sides.
Roasted garlic is very easy to make in the oven using a muffin pan. Cut off the 1/3 top of the garlic bulbs, brush olive oil and kosher salt on the top of the remaining bulbs and roast in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 or until golden colored. If they are still not ready place another muffin pan on top of the other pan and check every 5-10 minutes until soft. The bulbs should be squeezable and easily come out of their skins, being spreadable like a soft paste. Layer it on baked potatoes or on crispy small bits of toasted bread. Yummy