Bread!

So really soon I am going to blog about making bread, a family recipe that my great grandmother made. But, for right now, I want to talk about all the ways to spice up bread and make it more interesting.

I'm a college student so anything I can do to make my food budget go further is useful.  There are several ways to make bread into a really delicious snack.  I try not to eat many carbs.. but they are cheap food so I take what I can get. And carbs are my weakness... oh well

1-- Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Country bread, sourdough, and french bread all taste amazing when dipped in a dish with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. 

2-- Herb Infused Olive Oil

Take some of your favorite herbs: I like chives, thyme, and rosemary... they might sound like a weird combination but when infused into the oil, they combine really nicely. 

You can also infuse softened butter and mold it back into rounded loafs to use anytime

3-- Ultimate Garlic Bread

The trick to making really good garlic bread is to not just have garlic  in the butter

Add 3/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves (dried from the bottle works fine but fresh is better),  1/4 tsp Season All, and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese to 1/2 cup butter and melt them together.

Spread this on bread (sourdough or french bread is the best) wrap the slices together in tin foil and broil on high for 15 minutes (depending on how hot your oven gets on the broil setting)

You can also brush this on bread sticks and biscuits to make them super delicious

4-- Brie Deliciousness

Take a wheel of brie and top it with raspberry jam and almonds or cranberry sauce and onions, or pretty much anything you think will taste good. If you like spicy, consider grating some pepper jack cheese on top or red pepper flakes and parsley. My favorite is the cranberry sauce on its own or with onions.

Once you top the wheel of cheese, broil it on low until the Brie starts to melt. Then just choose how melted you want it and take it out when it gets there. 

This is good on fruit (I recommend apples) as well as bread. 

If you want to try baked Brie, which is similar only it is wrapped in a puff pastry, check out this recipe from Rachael Ray   Rachael Ray Baked Brie.