Garlic Toasts

While I absolutely adore pastas of nearly any variety, Rodney is picky, primarily due to his lactose intolerance. One thing that limits us from having pasta as much as I would like is Rodney's need for garlic bread. It's a pain in the ass to make fresh and it hogs so much freezer space if you buy pre-fab loaves, which are loaded with all kinds of junk. When I made pasta for dinner, I had to find a way to accompany it with some bread.

This is what I did:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Open a loaf of purchased sourdough bread and extract 4 slices.

Butter both sides of each slice with softened butter.

Smear approximately 1-2 tsp of minced garlic into the butter on one side of a bread slice. Repeat with remaining slices.

Place bread, garlic side up, on a baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are crusty.

If you like, sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese. Cut slices into quarters. Serve.

I didn't think this would be very good, but as it turned out, Rodney and I actually preferred this toast to the garlic bread loaves we usually purchase from the frozen food corridor of the grocery. The bread was fresher, the butter real, the garlic somewhat freshly minced, and we only had exactly what we'd eat -- no waste! Better though is that the overall ingredient statement would be shorter than that of the garlic bread we usually purchase. Best of all was that the interior of the bread wasn't mushy.