Many years ago I
was at my friend Charles' house and we were cooking and he remarked
that "You don't press garlic. You smash it."
Say what? He then took a meat cleaver, pul a whole garlic clover
on a cutting board and whacked it (hard) with the side of the
clever. What was left was a decidedly smashed garlic clove and
all we had to do was remove the outer husk.
I've never forgotten it, but lacking a heavy duty meat cleaver I've
come up with a slightly gentler version that's essentially the
same. The biggest feature of garlic smashing instead of pressing is:
it's very entertaining
way faster since you don't have to peel it first
no garlic press to clean (which is always a royal pain)
takes out frustrations, though it you're frustrated you probably shouldn't be around sharp knives