A few weeks ago, I mentioned in one of the WFD diaries that my partner and I would be traveling to California this summer for (among other things) the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. The moderators suggested that it could be a diary topic, so here we are.
Below the fold, I will be talking about the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the festival which took place last weekend in Gilroy, CA. I have a photo album set up on one of those photo sharing sites. And since this is What's For Dinner, of course there will be some favorite garlic recipes presented along the way.
The thirty-third annual Gilroy Garlic Festival was held on July 29, 30, and 31 2011. My partner and I spent a few hours at the festival on opening day, Friday the 29th. You can browse the festival's official website for many more details. What follows is a personal experience from a first-time attendee.
A selection of the photos I shot at the festival can be found here.
On this trip, my partner and I stayed at the home of relatives in the San Jose area, so we had a home base from which to branch out and explore the Bay area, Sonoma, Napa, and of course Gilroy. The two of us drove down to Gilroy on the Friday morning, about a 45-minute drive. We are early birds by nature, and wanted to arrive there not long after the 10:00 AM opening time. We weren't the only ones.
We approached the city limits around 9:50, and followed the signs for festival parking. The route is well signed, marked by traffic cones, and has officers at the various twists and turns along the way. Though, if you just follow the long line of cars, you can't really go wrong. This was a slow moving line, with a very high volume...it was 10:30 by the time we finally got parked.
They have an army of volunteers to direct you into one of several wide open fields within walking distance of the festival grounds, and line up the cars one by one, row after row after row after row. If you arrive later in the day, your parking spot might be a good hike to the festival ground, but they do have shuttle buses, as well as a special area for people with mobility problems. We chose to walk, about a quarter mile from where they parked us.
Keep in mind that we were early, on the first day. I've read that on the Saturday and Sunday of festival weekend, the crowds are even bigger, and the parking lines take even longer to navigate...up to 2 hours. At least parking is free, for all that trouble.
It was a lovely California morning. A nice breeze at that time in the morning, and clear blue skies. By mid-afternoon, the temperature had cranked up to the high 80's and the sun was really cooking. The festival grounds have lots of wide open space, but also lots of shady areas to relax, sit, eat, or watch the crowds go by.
The festival is held in Christmas Hill Park, in Gilroy, about 30 minutes south of San Jose. It's a large area, with a centralized food area, plus lots of smaller vendors in clusters around the grounds, 3 stage areas for demonstrations and entertainment, and shaded eating and sitting areas.
I pre-paid our festival tickets online. We got a package deal which includes admission plus a combo plate from Gourmet Alley, for $25 each, discounted a few bucks from the gate price. Whether that's a good deal or not depends on how you plan to eat. I wouldn't do it again...I'd buy just the admission ticket, and pay for food separately.
Gourmet Alley is a fairly expansive line of food booths (actually 2 such lines, the setup is duplicated on both sides of the "alley") which are part of the officially sponsored facilities. They don't cook in the booths themselves, which are just windows where you can pay for individual items: sausage on a bun, calamari, garlic bread, brisket, and so on. The cooking for all of the Gourmet Alley windows is done at either end of the alley, where you can watch. Lineups at the windows are long by mid-day, but move quickly. Two of these windows are serving "Combo One" and "Combo Two". The package deal I bought online gives you an option for either one of these combos, which otherwise sell for $12 per plate. My partner and I each had Combo Two, which consists of half a sausage on a bun, chicken stir fry, garlic mushrooms, and garlic shrimp.
The problem was, by the time we got around to having the combo plates, we had already indulged in a variety of foods from Gourmet Alley, as well as other vendors around the festival grounds. We ended up eating the combos not because we craved them, but because we had already pre-paid for them. So with that in mind, I would simply not pre-pay for anything. There are so many foods to choose from, and you might as well try as many as you can fit in your belly (and as many as you are willing to pay for).
On the other hand, if you are on a tight budget and want a good sampling of food for a reasonable price, the combo plate might be a good option.
Here are some statistics from the 2010 edition of Gourmet Alley:
Gourmet Alley Item |
2010 Servings |
Garlic Bread |
15,305 |
Garlic Fries |
10,277 |
Calamari |
4,696 |
Garlic Italian Sausage Sandwich |
5,716 |
Combo Plate I |
7,026 |
Combo Plate II |
5,107 |
Stuffed Mushrooms |
9,719 |
Pepper Steak Sandwich |
10,546 |
Pasta con Pesto |
4,681 |
Scampi |
6,610 |
Garlic Chicken Stir Fry |
4,179 |
When you tell people you are going to a garlic festival, everybody says "try the garlic ice cream!". Even people who haven't been there and done that, have heard about it. One of the stands in the vendor areas gives out free samples, a small scoop of garlic ice cream on a small cone. As you might expect, they have long line-ups, but we got our samples early on when it wasn't so busy. The taste was a bit garlicky, but not overpowering. Subtle, not strong. All around the grounds you will find plenty of other options for ice cream, frozen yogurt, strawberries, and so on, without garlic.
A couple of vendors offer deep-fried garlic. How can you go wrong? Since returning home (last night to be specific), I tried out a variation on that: tempura garlic.
Tempura Garlic
2 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
2 quarts or more vegetable oil for deep frying
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup club soda
1 cup vodka
1 large egg
1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil to 400F.
2. While the oil is heating, blanch the garlic cloves in boiling water for 4-5 minutes, or until starting to soften when gently poked with a paring knife.
3. When the oil is nearly at cooking temperature, combine the flour and cornstarch in a small bowl. Combine the club soda, vodka, and egg in a larger bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined. Do not over-mix.
4. Put all the garlic cloves into the batter, then one by one carefully lift them out, shake off the excess, and drop into the hot oil.
5. When golden brown, remove the garlic to paper towels to drain.
6. Eat as is, or with a ginger-soy dipping sauce, or with aioli.
Note: The tempura batter here is adapted from the May/June 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine. The idea of using vodka as part of the liquid is to reduce the formation of gluten (water plus flour creates gluten, whereas alcohol does not contribute to gluten but still gives the desired wetness). This batter is very easy to work with and does not go thick within minutes, as more traditional tempura batters do. You can of course use a more traditional recipe if you want to avoid using vodka.
Note: You do need to blanch the garlic before battering and frying. The cooking time is so fast, that otherwise the garlic would be raw...crunchy and pungent. Boil the garlic until it is just soft, not mushy.
Note: The quantity of batter here is more than you need for just a couple of heads of garlic. You can reduce the quantity, or better yet use the rest of the batter for other ingredients: shrimp, vegetables, and so on. Make it a tempura feast!
I didn't sample any of the garlic pizza offered by a couple of the vendors. I just had too many other things to eat (such a problem!). But what follows is the standard pizza dough that I frequently make at home. I usually make a large batch, divide it up into individual serving size, and freeze it.
Garlic Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
1 3/4 cups room temperature water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup whole-wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons plain olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1. Gently stir-fry the garlic in the olive oil until just beginning to brown.
2. Measure the water into a glass 2-cup measuring cup, and add the garlic/oil mixture. Whisk to combine.
3. Combine the flours, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to combine.
4. With the motor running, pour the water/garlic/oil mixture slowly through the feed tube. Make sure to get all the garlic bits into the dough.
5. The dough should ball up inside the food processor bowl. Continue to process for about 30 seconds. Add a bit more water or flour if necessary to get the dough to a smooth ball state.
6. Remove the dough, knead a few times by hand on a floured surface to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
7. Divide into 4 equal portions, each of which will make a personal size thin-crust pizza. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour or more before using (not too tightly, to allow the dough to rise), or freeze for later use.
Note: I like the flavor of the whole-wheat flour. If you prefer, use all bread flour.
Note: Use the plastic dough blade if your food processor has one, otherwise use the metal blade. You can also mix this dough in a stand mixer, or even by hand.
Note: This dough is also good for making breadsticks.
One of the things I tried, fairly early in the day, was the Garlic Sausage from Gourmet Alley. For $6, this was a sausage on a bun along with stir-fried peppers and onions. Earlier I talked about the strategy surrounding the combo plates. I ended up having a combo that featured a half-size of the same sausage, so there was some duplication. Another reason why I would not go for the combo, just eat everything a la carte.
In my freezer at home right now, are some Kielbasa sausages that I made a few weeks ago:
Smoked Kielbasa Sausage
1 pound beef chuck
1 1/2 pounds pork butt
1/2 pound fatty pork belly
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
medium hog casings
Make sausage links:
1. Cut the meats into narrow strips, and partially freeze.
2. Process the cold meats through a meat grinder, into a large bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, and knead well to mix evenly.
4. Process the mixture to make 8-inch links, in the medium hog casings.
5. Refrigerate at least a couple of hours, or overnight to let the flavors combine.
Smoking the links:
1. Soak 3 to 4 cups of hickory chips in water for about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare a smoker or kettle grill with about 15 briquettes, lit and pre-heated. Make a mound of the hot charcoal on one side, for indirect heating.
3. Remove the wood chips from the water, and put into a foil packet, poking a few holes on the top. Set the packet directly onto the hot charcoal.
4. Place the sausages on the cooking grill, away from the direct heat.
5. Cover and maintain the inside temperature at between 170F and 250F.
6. Smoke the sausages until the meat registers 160F on an instant-read thermometer. This may take anywhere from an hour to two hours or longer, depending on the smoking temperature, sausage quantity, weather conditions, and so on. This is part of the art of grilling/smoking.
7. Use within a couple of days, or wrap links tightly and freeze.
Using the smoked links:
1. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to moderately high temperature.
2. Sear the smoked sausages on all sides until well browned, even slightly charred.
3. Serve on fresh buns with your choice of toppings: mustard, pickles, onions, sauerkraut, and so on.
Note: I usually make these with up to half as much again quantity of garlic. My guests can smell it in the air.
Note: This technique involves what is known as hot smoking. You can do cold smoking, at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, but that requires the addition of curing salts (nitrites). The safe use of that technique is a whole different discussion.
The garlic festival is about the garlic, but not only about the garlic. They have entertainment on 3 different stages, rides for the kids, rock climbing, arts and crafts, and lots more.
Two of the stages are set up for musical entertainment, and various local groups play there. Relax under the shade and enjoy listening. The main stage is setup for cooking demonstrations and competitions. We sat for a few minutes to watch the introduction of a competition between 2 local chefs (one amateur, one professional). They are equipped to show closeups on big screens so everyone gets a good look. But we decided not to linger there, as the show could go on for an hour or more...and there were things we hadn't eaten yet. One of this year's attractions was Angelo Sosa, from TV's "Top Chef" series. We didn't see him, as that was scheduled for a later time than when we were around.
In the Arts and Crafts area, there were probably dozens of vendors showing all kinds of stuff to buy. Some garlic related, some not. I was intrigued by the flat bottles...basically empty booze bottles that have been heated and flattened. You could use one as a small serving dish for bite-size appetizers. $20 bucks each. There was the usual collection of stuff that you'd find at a typical fair or festival: ceramics, woven hats, sculptures, glassworks, ... arts of all kinds.
We left the grounds about 4 hours after arrival, by which time the sun was cooking pretty good. Not a cloud in the sky, a beautifully perfect California sunshine day. I made sure to wear a baseball cap all day, so I didn't get burned, though I did end up being a bit of a "redneck" around the edges of my t-shirt. (I got a bit more burned a few days later as we toured Alcatraz island, and spent longer outside than I had planned for, but that's another story).
One more thing: in recent weeks, I have commented in these diaries my craving for real strawberries. The gargantuan straw-monsters that we find in the markets here, imported from California, have no flavor, no texture, and no red ripeness. Blecccchhh. A local pick-your-own strawberry farm had previously advised that because of the really cold crappy spring we had here, berries would be very late, and not many of them at that. On their website right this moment is the advisory:
We have downsized our strawberry and vegetable operation by 85%. Strawberry season is nearly over and we will not be open this week. If there is any end of season berries available next week, this will be announced on Monday, August 8th. We do expect to be open for saskatoon and vegetable picking Aug 8, but do check back for updates that morning.
Whatever they did have, I guess I missed it while being on vacation in California. But, while down there, we did manage to find some actual strawberries at the Mountain View farmer's market last Sunday. Real, red, ripe, tasty berries. Small and full of flavor, deliciously naturally sweet. No straw-zillas among them. The real thing. I could go on. Stop me now. I want more!!!!!!!!!