Faith's Garlic Bread

Garlic bread originated in the United States and it is a typical Italian-American dish that goes great with Spaghetti and Meatballs. It probably originated after Italian immigrants started to use butter as a substitute for olive oil, which was uncommon in the United States in the first half of the 20th century.

1 loaf of Italian or French bread cut in half lengthwise, or as many slices of bread that you want
1 stick salted butter, softened - enough to spread on the cut sides of the bread
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. onion, minced

Other add-ins, if desired
Chopped parsley

Make the garlic butter: Mix the butter with the garlic and onion. Add in parsley, if using. If using unsalted butter, add a little salt. Mix together. Spread on loaf halves or thick slices of bread and brown under the broiler. This will not take long. Broiling creates a crunchy crust with nicely browned bits of garlic (and onion). Do not broil so long that you dry out the bread; you want the center to be soft.

Soft Garlic Bread

An alternative is to split the bread lengthwise, spread both halves of the loaf with garlic butter, put the halves back together, wrap in foil or place on a cookie sheet and heat in a 350 degree F. oven until very hot. Baked this way, the bread does not get brown, but stays very soft inside.

You could also cut slits in the bread approximately 1 inch apart without cutting all the way through leaving the bottom intact. Spread garlic butter between the slices. Wrap in foil or place on a cookie sheet and heat in a 350 degree F. oven until very hot. Again, baked this way, the bread does not get brown, but stays very soft inside.

Variations:

Broil or bake as above.

Chive Bread - mix the butter with minced garlic and plenty of fresh chopped chives and spread on the bread.
Herb Bread - mix the butter with basil, marjoram, chives, parsley. Fresh herbs are the best, but dried will do.
Parmesan Bread - after spreading the garlic butter (with any add-ins) on the bread, but before baking or broiling, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Cheesy Garlic Bread - mix your choice of grated cheeses, such as mozzarella cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, and parmesan cheese together. Spread the garlic butter on the bread as above, sprinkle the cheeses on top and broil for a few minutes until cheeses melt.

Other add-ins:
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Dried oregano and other herbs