Roasted Garlic and Brie on French Bread

If I had to choose a favorite appetizer, it would have to be this delicious treat... okay, and maybe about ten other delicious food items that I'm not going to talk about today.

I had probably eaten this, say 4 times before I was 21? And then last summer I happened to live close to a family that had me over all the time for appies and drinks... and let's just say I didn't lose any weight eating ungodly amounts of cheese and bread and garlic on a weekly basis. And it was worth. Oh boy, was it worth it.

So, long story not so short I make this when I need to feed more than one person (trust me, you don't want to make this alone because it's impossible to exercise any self-control). The great thing is that it's easy, filling, delicious, and everyone thinks it's way more gourmet than I could ever dream to be. Right now, the smell of roasted garlic is filling my condo and it's all I can do to wait for my guest before tearing into this appy!


Now, for the good part:

Ingredients:

• 1 round of brie (or camembert/cambozola)
• 3 heads of garlic
• French baguette

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Lop off the top 1/4 of each garlic head, so the tops of each clove are exposed (don't get too fussy about this, later the skin will crack open easily if you miss one!). Here's where you can go wild: you can put the heads into a cupcake tin, in a glass dish, in a foil sack... whatever! Just remember these two rules: Drizzle with olive oil and keep the garlic covered the WHOLE time it roasts in the oven. Other than that, it's your dream, baby. Leave the garlic in the middle of the oven for about half an hour. The garlic is done when it's tender and a deep golden color.
2. While the garlic roasts, bring out the cheese and let it sit at room temperature. This is important -- you want it to be super soft for spreading. 
3. When there is roughly 5 minutes left for the garlic, slice up the french bread into 1/2" thick rounds. You can either toast the pieces in the oven, or leave it soft. I prefer unbaked, but it's your call!
4. Plate the garlic heads, cheese, and bread on a platter. I like to put a slice of brie on the french bread then smear a clove of garlic on top, which kind of melts the cheese right before you pop it into your mouth! Give each person a knife for fishing out the garlic cloves otherwise you might have a fistfight on your hands. 

Enjoy!