I love getting your emails, but I really hope that you will post these questions on the Forum/Quick Comments in the future – it might encourage others to write! Then again, one of my best friends has yet to even LOOK at this site, and picks up the phone anytime that she has a question… Enough “venting” - back to the subject… There are several ways to achieve this goal: roasting, sautéing, and simply waiting. For a hint of flavor, as in salads, I recommend the latter. Depending upon how much time you have before serving, add fresh garlic to the oil you intend to use. The less time you have, the smaller the garlic pieces should be! Leave it in an airtight container at room temperature, until you’re ready to use it. Strain if desired, but there will be some of that great flavor instilled. For the dried peppers I’ve come to enjoy again, I used a combination of techniques. I smashed a few whole cloves of garlic, and let them sit on the windowsill in about 2 cups of olive oil while I waited for the peppers to dry… Then, when I heated the oil (plus another couple cups), I let the garlic cook until they just started to crisp, and then I removed them (and I’ll throw them back in with the peppers once they’ve cooled!). Now, if you are truly an aficionado of garlic, you MUST try to roast or confit… I’ve explained both of those techniques before, in two separate articles but I love both, and will explain them again. To roast garlic, you take an entire head of fresh garlic, slice off the top part, sprinkle with a little bit of olive oil and S&P, then wrap in foil and throw in an oven (or grill) for close to an hour. Until it’s MUSHY! Let cool a little, and then squeeze out the soft and sweet and savory goodness. Add to the oil of your choice (oh man, have you read the recipe from Nick & Kent?)? To confit (pronounce "cunFEE", which means to cook slowly in oil), I’ll admit that I buy one of those jars of the already peeled garlic cloves, and fill it up with olive oil. Then I dump the entire contents into a small baking dish at 350 for about 30 minutes. Let it cool, and return to the original container. You end up with “almost” roasted garlic and richly flavored oil. NOTE: you can roast garlic anytime you are using your oven for something else – as long as the aroma of garlic “works” with the other dish Garlic scented cake is NOT appealing, but bread, chicken, a roast… Yes, I like garlic, in all of it’s many forms. I hope that you’ll experiment, too!