There are only a few type of people who can turn down a piece of hot garlic bread straight out of the oven. You know the type. Among them, those who have strict and healthy eating habits, or consider food just a means to keep their body alive, or those infuriating few who can even forsake Cheetos. (In my estimation, no one should be that well-disciplined. It simply can’t lead to mental stability.) So unfortunately, or fortunately (depends on how you look at it) I don’t happen to fall in any of the types who can show restraint when it comes to garlic bread (or Cheetos, for that matter)! For me, garlic bread is like a siren call that lures me away from healthy eating and onto the path of pleasurable indulgence followed by guilty regret.

So now that I have completely bummed you out, I’m going to tell you how wonderful this garlic bread tastes. And no, I am not going to tell you this bread is good for you. I am not going to lie to you, because my mother told me not to lie to people. But I will tell you it is worth going a little out of your nutritional comfort zone if offered a piece. It literally screams “Italian” and as we all know, if it’s Italian, by definition it’s going to be amazing. (I recently did the “who were your ancestors” thing, and it turns out I am 100% European, but only about 1% Italian. Nearly broke my heart.)

So, there is nothing more to say about this bread except that you must make it sometime in the near future. It goes well with almost any pasta dish, soup, salad, or entrée. In other words, it’s versatile. Plus it’s easy to prepare. Now if it were only low calorie, it would be the perfect food. A girl can dream, right???

• ¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• ¾ tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. Italian seasoning
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 long crusty baguette, cut in diagonal slices

Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan. Add the olive oil, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper all at once. Stir for 5 seconds and remove from heat.

Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and spread liberally with the butter mixture. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 4-6 minutes or until the bread is crusty around the edges and the butter topping is very hot. Serve either piping hot or at room temperature.