Garlic knots and a realization

Remember my post about homemade bagels?

Well, I'm just going crazy with the NJ hits lately.  Does anyone remember having a childhood obsession with garlic knots? Only me? Ah. No wonder I was so popular with the gentlemen in middle school. It must have been my overwhelming garlic breath.

Anyway, these little buttery pillows of dough are a clever way to use up scraps of leftover pizza dough.  I happened to find some leftover pizza dough on my hands and decided to give it a shot.

They look adorable! They tasted way too healthy, though.  I'm pretty sure these babies require an ungodly amount of butter instead of the modest brushing of olive oil I put on them. These are not the garlic knots of yesteryear, folks.

That's one of the funny things about working at a restaurant. You realize why everything tastes so good when you eat out. It's because cooks and chefs put more cream, butter, and salt in your food than you could every even imagine using on your own.  Here in NC you can add bacon/bacon fat to that list.  I remember when my brother (a chef) showed me his secret for perfect mashed potatoes. It was a quart of heavy cream. Of course! I use between 10-20 pounds of butter every day… by myself.

So the moral of the story is: sometimes trying to recreate your favorite restaurant dishes can be depressing. Just don't think about it… eating out is delicious for a reason. Eat celery for breakfast and lunch and get over it.