... and the Garlic Bread From Heaven That Hates Your Thighs

Confession time: I love garlic. I love garlic bread. I love crappy garlic bread, I love Stouffer's garlic bread, I love dipping garlic bread in tomato sauce, I love the cheesy nasty "garlic sticks" from Pizza Hut. I love it without abandon. And I don't care who knows it. (That was for you, Francesca.)

So when I got it into my head that I would make Perfect Spaghetti and Meatballs, I immediately made sure that garlic bread was on the menu. You can't have one without the other, right? Well, I guess I can have garlic bread without anything else. But it certainly doesn't hurt the situation one whit to combine the two.

This recipe is not for the faint of heart artery. It's roasted garlic, butter, and cheese. On bread. I don't really know how else to say this but it is DELICIOUS. And probably not something I should have too frequently. My thighs aren't as big a fan of it as my taste buds are. But if you decide to make the most perfect spaghetti and meatballs ever, please, do yourself a favor and add this.

Garlic-Parmesan Bread
adapted from Bon Appetit (yeah, I doubled the garlic. SO WHAT.)

Ingredients
2 large heads of garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch or two of freshly grated nutmeg
1 1- to 1 1/2-pound loaf crusty whole wheat bread, cut horizontally in half

Method
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place head of garlic on sheet of heavy-duty foil. Drizzle with oil and seal foil. Place packet on oven rack. Roast garlic until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Cool garlic, then peel and squeeze soft cloves into bowl. Add butter and cheese and blend. Season with salt and pepper.

Place bread, cut side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Spread with garlic butter. Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake bread until very crusty and topping is browned, about 20 minutes. Cut bread crosswise into strips. DEVOUR.