By Married. One week in. Tyler leaves his shoes in places where I will trip on them. I knew this before we lived together, which we have done since March, but somehow husband shoes in the hall feel different from fiance shoes in the hall. I moved them twice this week and did not say anything and the third time I said something and he apologized and moved them and they were back the next morning. I have decided this is the hill that is not worth dying on and moved on to appreciating everything else.
The thank-you notes are half done. Debbie gave us a spreadsheet. Of course she did. I have been filling it in faithfully. Tyler has been writing the actual notes. His handwriting is large and earnest and absolutely illegible. I rewrite the ones that look like they were written in a different alphabet.
Made soup for the first dinner of our married life that felt ordinary, which was Wednesday. Everything in the first week felt heightened and strange and good but strange, and Wednesday I made chicken soup and put it on the stove and it simmered and the duplex smelled like soup and that was the first married ordinary thing and I stood at the stove and felt it settle into place. This is life. A pot of soup on Wednesday. This is what I wanted. I have it.
The soup needed something alongside it — it just did — and I had a baguette on the counter and soft butter and garlic and that was enough. Garlic bread is not a complicated thing, but when you pull it out of the oven and it’s golden and the whole kitchen smells like butter and garlic on top of already smelling like soup, it stops being a side dish and starts being evidence that you live somewhere. That’s what I wanted on Wednesday. That’s exactly what this made.
Classic Homemade Garlic Bread
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 large baguette or Italian loaf, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder)
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional, for extra richness)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Make the garlic butter. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, minced garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir until fully mixed. Add olive oil if using and stir again until incorporated.
- Spread the bread. Place the halved loaf cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the garlic butter evenly across both halves, going all the way to the edges so the crust gets some too.
- Bake until golden. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the butter is melted and the edges are beginning to turn golden. For crispier bread, broil on high for an additional 1–2 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning.
- Slice and serve. Remove from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Slice crosswise into individual pieces and serve warm, ideally alongside a bowl of soup.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 280mg