Roasted Garlic
1 head of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the top third of the head of garlic off to reveal the cloves. Set upright in a glass baking dish. Slowly drizzle the olive oil onto the cloves, allowing it to run down between all the cloves. Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for about one hour, until the garlic is very soft, spreadable and caramelized. Serve with toasted bread.
If you have any leftover garlic, mash it with a fork with a few tablespoons of softened butter, and store in the refrigerator for future use.
Don't throw out the extra oil in the baking dish! Use that garlic oil to saute vegetables, or to drizzle on toasted bread.
Cheesy Garlic Knots
1 prepared pizza dough, homemade or store-bought/refrigerated
2 tablespoons roasted garlic butter, melted
1 1/4 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400 F. On a floured surface, roll out the pizza dough to a rectangular shape measuring approximately 10x16 inches. Brush the melted garlic butter over the dough with a pastry brush. (If you don't have any garlic butter, just use unsalted butter or olive oil, and sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of garlic powder or minced garlic.)
Sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, and cheddar cheese, and press down gently to press the seasoning and cheese into the dough. Fold the dough in half, from one long end to the other so that the herbs and cheese are sandwiched inside two layers of dough. Using a pizza roller, cut the dough into 9 equal strips. Pick up a strip, holding it at each end, and twist until it twists up into itself. Form it into a loose "knot" and place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
Brush each knot with the olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
Bake for 14-15 minutes until puffy and golden.
Yields 9 large knots.