Roasted Garlic Bread

As much as I cook, I only recently started making my own garlic bread.  I just always thought, how much better can it be than the frozen kind?  The answer is, a lot!  And it's easy to make!

Recipe:

3 bulbs garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 loaf fresh French bread

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tops off of the garlic bulbs so that the tip of each clove is exposed. Place the bulbs on a baking sheet, and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until garlic is soft.

Once the garlic is done cooking, let it cool a bit and then squeeze the cloves into a mixing bowl. They should pop out quite easily, just be sure to remove any of the outer skin that may fall into the bowl. Smash the garlic cloves into a paste, then add the butter, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Stir until well blended.

Set the oven to broil and slice the loaf of bread in half horizontally.  Place the cut side up on a baking sheet and spread the mixture evenly onto each half loaf of bread.  Broil for about 5 minutes, until toasted and nicely browned.

Tips:  Don't skimp on the garlic - 3 bulbs may seem like a lot, but we're making garlic bread here, it needs to be a lot!  If you have fresh thyme, it will substitute nicely for the oregano.  Adding cheese, Parmesan or other, is always a plus.  Oh, and if you have the bright idea to melt the butter to make this easier to spread, like I did, don't do it.  Yes, it will be easier, but it makes the bread soggy.  Much smarter to let the oven, and your wrist, do a bit more of the work.  Enjoy!