Garlic Herb Bread and Cheesy Garlic Herb Bread

Keith's Recipes

Garlic Herb Bread

Garlic bread - one of the staples of Italian fare as served in the U.S.

Originally, this wasn't something I was planning on posting - I just sort of assumed everyone (or at least anyone with any cooking experience) knew how to make garlic bread, and what to do to make it interesting... Then a friend of mine told me he could never get garlic bread to turn out, and mine was always so good, so I figured I'd publish this so he could try to follow it. Of course, most of this is "to taste," so it may not be too helpful...

Garlic Herb Bread

Serves 3 or 4

• 1 loaf French bread, Italian bread, or sourdough French bread
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 clove garlic
• oregano
• rosemary
• basil
• thyme
• fresh parsley

Melt butter over low heat. Mince garlic and add to butter. Add oregano, rosemary, basil and thyme to taste (you may also have to alter the balance of these to supplement or complement the flavors of whatever you are serving it with). Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about five minutes.

Slice loaf lengthwise into top and bottom halves. Lay on a broiler sheet or a cookie sheet face up.

Spoon butter-herb mixture over bread evenly and brush into the bread with the back of the spoon.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until tips become golden-brown. Watch closely when broiling, as some broilers are much faster than others.

Cheesy Garlic Herb Bread

Additional Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp. fresh grated Parmesan and/or Romano cheese

Prepare bread as above, but after sprinkling with parsley, cover with grated cheese. Broiling time will probably need to be increased to brown the cheese.

Either of these are great with most Italian dishes and many French dishes.