By Jake Mathias

Hello, fellow eaters. One of my favorite foods, as it is to many, is garlic. And like many of you, I hate peeling the stuff. But there’s no bottled garlic salt/powder that can possibly take the place of the real thing, so you can always purchase pre-peeled garlic.

Unfortunately, that can be pricey, so to avoid the extra cost, try tossing a bulb of garlic into a plastic baggie and gently roll your rolling pin over the top. You can also try gently hitting the garlic with a meat hammer/tenderizer or the handle of a heavy knife, and viola- the peels pop right off.

What I want us to make today is a dish called chicken and 40 cloves.  You heard me right, 40 cloves of garlic.  It sounds like a lot but trust me; once this dish is done the garlic is roasted and sweet and not at all over- powering.

You will need:

1 whole chicken divided in 6 pieces Salt and pepper 40 whole cloves garlic 5 sprigs fresh thyme 1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°.

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  Brown chicken on both sides over medium heat.  Add garlic, thyme and oil to the skillet and cover with foil.  Place in oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

The leftover garlic cloves are really good spread on crusty bread.

Enjoy and remember, Live to Eat.