I was told or remember reading that you can release the oils in garlic and make it more flavorful if you smash the garlic with heel of your hand or flat of a blade before chopping, dicing, etc. Is that true?

Hi Dave,

Yes, smashing garlic will crush the cells in the garlic and definitely release more flavor. The finer you cut or mince garlic, the stronger the flavor will be. This is why we often émincé (thinly slice) garlic in many dishes, as the thin slices add a subtle flavor and not permeate the whole dish. You can prepare garlic a variety of ways; it's just up to you how strong you want the garlic flavor to be.

Aside from releasing the flavor, you are also maximizing the phytonutrient compound called allicin when you crush, smash or slice the garlic. Set it aside for 10-15 minutes to allow its healing properties to develop.

I thought that the acidity of the lemon did not blend well with the fennel. Besides that, the dish was great.

every-time I make this dish, I am loving it, however I reduce the lemon quantity a bit and maybe next time I try a Gewuerztraminer as the acid.

By cooking this dish, I tried fennel for the first time. I had cooked a pork roast coated with a wet rub which included fennel seeds. I thought this dish complemented it perfectly.

Can I use the same kind of stainless steel pan to sautee vegetables as I do to pan fry meat? It looks like the chef is using some kind of dark pan in the sauteed fennel recipe.

A stainless stell pan can be used to saute either meat or vegetables. Just be sure that you follow the same principles you learned in the pan frying lesson about properly heating the pan etc. Cheers!

How can you tell when the fennel is cooked enough to add the shallots?

Good question. The fennel is just cooked until it starts to soften and caramelize a bit (see around the 45 second mark of the video recipe for visuals). Hope this helps. Cheers!