Roland wrote:

> I have never been able to duplicate at home the rich garlic flavor
> that I get when I visit my favorite Italian restaurant. I enjoy the
> shrimp pasta which has a really intense garlic and herb sauce. At home
> I will prepare 6 to 8 cloves, finely chopped and sauté in butter then
> add some fresh herbs but cant quite get there. Is there a method in
> preparation, maybe someone has some tricks to share. Many thanks...

This may sound strange but the only time I get that overpowering garlic
flavor is when I use a mandoline to slice the cloves paper thin... Even
when I crush and finely mince a clove the garlic still doesn't have that
"taste it in the morning" pungency (which may or may not be a good thing)...

A good basic Garlic-Herb Sauce is pretty simple to make... just melt
some butter over medium heat in a 10"-12" fry pan... once butter is
melted and has taken on a nice rich brown color toss in some thin slices
of garlic and finely chiffonaded sage... remove from heat... cook pasta
(perciatelli or fresh orecchiette is my pasta of choise for this)...
then place the fry pan back over medium-high heat and squeeze half a
lemon into the pan... toss pasta for 1-2 minutes to coat... at this
point you can add shredded parmesan cheese and a little pasta water (if
you're not planning on adding seafood)... If shrimp is what you're after
skip the cheese and pasta water and add about a half a cup of dry white
wine... cook the shrimp in the sauce until pink then add the pasta and a
sprinkle of red pepper flakes and toss... serve immediately...

~john!