Garlic. When I say the word, two things come to mind: First, my grandmother who back in the 80s caught wind of the health benefits and took it to heart. And second, the fact that people either love garlic (me!) or hate it (Shawn!). While I am not a fan of raw garlic (is anyone?), I do absolutely love it cooked — in sauces, on pasta, with veggies and especially roasted. Roasted garlic takes on a slightly sweet but still bold tone. It makes a great, low-cal spread for sandwiches or can add something special to sauces (like a yummy roasted garlic alfredo).

The flavor of the roasted garlic is the star of this recipe. The other components are delicious, but the garlic is what makes it shine. But let me be perfectly honest: this recipe has a lot of steps. It’s more than I would normally advise. But when something is good, it’s worth it and this is divine. First, you make the roasted garlic (click on the link below for directions), then you make the artichoke hearts, then you assemble and bake a bit. Fussy? A bit. But totally worth it.

This is the kind of dish you’d want to serve before dinner at a dinner party with your close friends. Or, you could use smaller pieces of bread (perhaps a slim ciabatta loaf instead?) for a great game day appetizer. And yes, I do think that game day is a day for real food, not junk.

Psst: To make this, you’ll need to know how to roast garlic. Get the instructions here.

Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Bread

Yield: 8 servings

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Ingredients

• 1 package, (box) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 large garlic clove, , minced
• salt and pepper
• Italian bread
• 1 head garlic, , roasted
• grated Asiago cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a medium-sized oven safe casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the artichoke hearts. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and then pour evenly over the artichoke hearts.
2. Cover the dish and slide into the oven. Cook for 30 minutes -- no peeking!
3. Remove from oven, uncover and stir and let cool. Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
4. Slice the Italian bread into 1/2 inch slices (I used about half of a loaf). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and slide into the oven. Bake for five minutes and then remove.
5. Spread each slice of bread with the roasted garlic. Then, divide the artichoke mixture evenly between the slices (solids only). Top each with a pinch of asiago. Slide into oven and bake for another 5 minutes.