i’ve been so caught up in my employment life changes, that the 8 pounds of garlic sitting in the cupboard were overlooked. that ended today, when i decided to get my roast on. sadly, i am no longer within close proximity to my three favorite italian breadmakers in lovely schenectady, ny. what does that have to do with roasted garlic? the best way to enjoy the stuff is by smearing it on a perfect slice of italian bread.

maybe i’ll break the ice with a few office people and ask where i can get a good loaf of bread on my lunch break. i’m having a tough time picking out the foodies in the bunch. i don’t see too many homemade leftovers in the fridge while retrieving my own concoctions at lunch. i fear that i’m working in a chain food lovers environment and am not sure how to deal with that.

back to the roasted g. it’s so easy and delicious. grab a bunch of healthy looking garlic heads and peel off most of the outer skins. throw them on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle on the salt and pepper. have that oven nice and warm, around 400 degrees. loosely wrap up the aluminum foil (leave some breathing room) and place it on the middle rack for about 45 minutes. your house will smell so freaking amazing and you will be drooling when the time comes to remove that gift from the oven.

carefully open up the aluminum package and let the steam exit while you slice up that bread. if you have the patience, really let the heads cool before you peel the skins off and squeeze out the cloves. i can never wait that long and always end up with some finger burns. it’s totally worth it. pop a clove right into your mouth and savor the flavor. then call up your friends to tell them what you just did. keep the call short, because you need to focus on the amazing snack you are about to consume. pour yourself a nice glass of wine, sit down in a comfortable space and enjoy! (the heartburn won’t roll up for a little while)

i should also note that you can roast in advance (like i did in the above photo series). keep the cloves in an air tight container for up to a week (if they even last that long).