On the Side : Garlic Bread to Write Home About

I wasn't expecting rave reviews about something as second fiddle as garlic bread, but last night at a house party I prepared this easy (and really cheap) garlic bread that got noticed!

What you need:

• 1 loaf (or however many loaves you need) of french bread fresh from the bakery
• a baking sheet
• a few garlic cloves, peeled
• some olive oil in a shallow bowl
• a basting brush
• salt
• pepper

What to do:

• arrange your oven so that the top rack is 6 inches below the broiler
• cut the bread diagonally (this matters) in 3/4 inch slices
• place bread on baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes on the first side, flip the bread over and broil another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes (watch it so it doesn't burn)
• cut a garlic clove in half (it works best with really big cloves) and rub the inside of the clove all over the bread
• brush each slice with olive oil
• sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper
• eat it...before someone else does

If you really like garlic-y garlic bread, this is the way to do it. I didn't expect rubbing a little raw garlic on hot bread would do much, but it really left its mark!

We also had some super yummy italian meatballs, and I will get the recipe and post it as well.