garlic bread

No problem with 100% olive oil. If you are using extra virgin stuff, don't put it in the blender or food processer or it will turn bitter.

I'd use a mix of butter and oil. This gets it spreadable at fridge temp.

For garlic, you might find it better if you used roasted garlic. Or you can cook the garlic cloves slowy (you can throw in your dried herbs at this point) in the olive oil till its soft. Mash this up into a puree and mix with the softened butter.

I like to add minced parsley, parm cheese, and a little bit of rosemary as well as the oregano.

I would give them a choice

Some people prefer butter. For garlic, fresh is the only primo one unless you can't fit that in.

When I make garlic bread, it's more of a garlic sandwich :bounce: which your church group might not appreciate. You can do it with a good deal less than I like to use. I peel the cloves and mince them in a mini-Cuisinart. It's perfect because when the garlic fragments get to just the right size, they stick to the walls of the bowl, out of the way of the blades. This actually works in the big one, too, if you're doing a lot.

Cook's Illustrated recommends gently sauteeing 2/3 of the garlic for rounded and nutty flavor, and using the rest raw, for a modest bite.

Olive oil is fine, by itself or with some butter. I microplane some parmesan on the bread after spreading the garlic-oil paste, and then broil. Usually goes over very well.

Mike

I've never heard that before, and know many cooks/chefs who use EVOO and put it in the blender or food processor. I do it all the time and have not noticed any bitterness - could it be that the bitterness you speak of is masked by the other ingredients, or that it's one or another of the other ingredients that's becoming bitter?

Some good ideas in this thread so far :lips:

Shel

Following up on thetincook's suggestions to use roasted garlic and herbs: if you start with peeled cloves, bake them in a covered dish with the olive oil, then when they're cool, puree the whole thing with some herbs and S&P, and voilà! Nothing more will be needed, and no one will complain about the garlic being too rough. Even just plain roasted garlic is a wonderful spread!

If you start with heads of garlic, separate them into cloves, bake with the oil, then puree them through a food mill. That will catch the skins. Then you can mix in the herbs etc.

Or you can toast the bread first then paint it with EVO and then rub it with a peeled garlic clove. It's amazing how you get an intense garlic flavor without chewing on lumps of it.

Jock

you can make a great spread wih

a mix of oil and butter , for each cupof butter use 1 cup of cold pressed oil .

Just soften the butter a little till its managable , add the oil and mix till combined with a whisk then for each cup of mix add 5-6 cloves of crushed garlic, fresh chopped parsley and mix well with the whisk, add some crushed black pepper and a little salt and it is so nice

you can also use this mix with out the herbs, garlic, salt and pepper as a better alternative to margerine