LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This is such a great dish to make during the holidays when you may be getting tired of all of the rich sweets and heavy meals. It's absolutely delicious and so incredibly easy to make. You may just want to hang on to these recipes for your New Year's celebration as well or for Mardi Gras which is coming up on March 1.
While a traditional seafood boil would be spread out on an outside tabletop, this one is served up more as a soup might be.
Really Good Garlic Bread
Ingredients
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon water
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning, if desired
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4—5 garlic cloves, minced to paste (1 tablespoon)
1 (1-pound) loaf soft Italian bread, halved horizontally
Directions
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine garlic powder and water in medium bowl. Add 4 tablespoons butter, Italian seasoning, salt, and cayenne to bowl; set aside.
Place remaining 4 tablespoons butter in small bowl and microwave, covered, until melted, about 30 seconds. Stir in garlic and continue to microwave, covered, until mixture is bubbling around edges, about 1 minute, stirring halfway through microwaving. Transfer melted butter mixture to bowl with garlic powder–butter mixture and whisk until homogeneous loose paste forms. (If mixture melts, set aside and let solidify before using.)Spread cut sides of bread evenly with butter mixture.
Transfer bread, cut sides up, to rimmed baking sheet. Bake until butter mixture has melted and seeped into bread, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove sheet from oven. Flip bread cut sides down, place second rimmed baking sheet on top, and gently press.
Return sheet to oven, leaving second sheet on top of bread, and continue to bake until cut sides are golden brown and crisp, 4 to 12 minutes longer, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer bread to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut each half into 8 slices. Serve immediately.
Note: A 12 by 5-inch loaf of supermarket Italian bread, which has a soft, thin crust and fine crumb, works best here. Do not use a rustic or crusty artisan-style loaf.