"GarlicBread" news and stories

'Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes From My Two Villages'
By Mario Batali
Photographs by Mark Ferri
Clarkson Potter -- 1998
Buy it on Amazon

More than a decade ago -- long before Del Posto, Otto and road trips through Spain with Gwyneth Paltrow -- Mario Batali had two restaurants, Pó and Babbo, and was just beginning to grow his rock-'n'-roll, orange-Croc-wearing legend through the Food Network.

It's there that we find him with "Mario Batali Simple Italian Food," his first cookbook, which takes readers through the tastes of Borgo Capanne, where Batali worked in Trattoria La Volta on the border of the Italian regions Emilia-Romagna and Toscana, as well as his other "village," New York.

Batali divides the recipes of these villages by color: The orange-titled ones are those he invented in New York; the brown titles are those he learned in Italy.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Not all caviar will scare off the squeamish: a fish roe-free Black-Eyed Pea "Caviar," a Deep South delicacy, is perfect for the egg-averse.

Booze is a wedding budget breaker. Luckily there are ways to bring down the costs without spoiling the shindig.

YumSugar asks: How do you make garlic bread?

A preview of National Geographic's special report on the global food crisis.

Bring out the zip of a tomatillo by blanching it, roasting it or throwing it in a sauce or salsa.

Could you match chefs to their restaurants? Take this quiz and find out.

Absinthe's Jeff Hollinger and Nopa's Neyah White share nine handy tips for making your own cocktail ingredients.

Watch out, carnivores! Ghent, a city in Belgium, strives to go meatless.

Oh, the wonderful, wonderful world of garlic bread. I don't know if there is a more simple or tasty concoction than bread, butter, and garlic. (Unless we're talking about making it into bruschetta, but that's a whole different recipe.) It's so tasty, and pretty much the perfect accompaniment to lasagna. To make it even better -- it's another super-simple recipe for the kids.

Garlic Bread

There are two main suggestions I have for kids, depending on their skill level, tastes, and interest.

To make the super-simple variety:
Very lightly toast some slices from a fresh baguette.
Spread butter on the slices, or drizzle olive oil.
Sprinkle the bread with garlic powder.
Bake or broil at super-high temperature until bread is browned nicely.

To make the more gourmet variety:
Take a small baguette and carefully cut slices -- without cutting through the bottom and removing each slice.
Make a garlic butter by combining a few minced cloves of garlic, a smidge of salt, a tsp or tbsp of olive oil, and about a quarter cup of butter. If you want it a little herby, add some minced remnants of the fresh basil from the caprese.
Spread this butter in between the slices of bread.
Wrap the loaf in foil and back in a 350°F for about 15 minutes. Carefully open the foil and bake for another 5 or so, until browned and crunchy.