Garlic Bread

This is simply the best garlic bread I’ve ever made. It’s a little involved, but those that love garlic, butter and crusty bread will swoon over it. Dusted with cheese and golden with garlicky goodness, it’s definitely one for the arsenal and can help make even a dinner of spaghetti and sauce straight from a jar a truly memorable experience.
The recipe calls for you to make a compound butter to spread over your loave before toasting. You may well have more butter than you need, and if so, it works very well to use in other dishes, most notably finishing steaks and wilted spinach. It is intense if not cooked, so do keep that in mind when using leftover compound butter in other dishes.

The Best Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 head of garlic
1 teaspoon salt
grated or shredded parmesan or romano cheese, for sprinkling
dried basil
1 loaf artisan french or italian bread

Directions:
First, make sure your butter is softened. If not, set it out for a bit at room temperature, as rock hard butter is not your friend here. Peel the garlic cloves and smash them with the flat of your knife. Cut butter into cubes and place into bowl of a small food processor or blender and add the garlic and salt. Pulse until well combined and the garlic is chopped fine, scraping down sides as necessary. Scrape butter out of the bowl and into a small mixing bowl and stir in a tablespoon of dried basil. Allow butter to sit for at least 15 minutes while you do something else. Split your loave down the middle like you would for a giant sandwich. Butter generously with the compound butter and sprinkle with a light layer of cheese and a little extra basil if desired. Pop into a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, then finish with a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top a bit. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes before sliceing and piling into a basket to serve.