Alex Guarnaschelli's Garlic Bread

I found this recipe in a magazine (People I think) while I was at work. It looked so good I made a copy and tried it. I took it to a party and everyone devoured it! It's a little spicy so I made a regular garlic bread for the kids, but this is a great alternative to regular garlic bread.

1 whole head garlic, plus 3 cloves peeled
5 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 tbsp softened butter
1 large loaf italian bread
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried chili flakes (optional, I added them)
1/2 tsp salt

Split the whole garlic in half horizontally, drizzle with 1 tbsp oil. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 until soft about 40 minutes.

Cut bread in half lengthwise

Finely mince 3 raw garlic cloves and combine with butter and remaining olive oil. spread evenly over bread and sprinkle with oregano, paprika, chili flakes and salt.

Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins and spread evenly over the bread. Wrap in foil and refrigerate overnight. ( I did over night, I also did it a couple hours before we were going to eat and it was just as good. I guess the longer the better, but I would say at least 2 hours)

Preheat oven to 350. Bake bread in foil until hot, 25-30 minutes. Slice and serve hot.

Unbelievable Mac and Cheese

We went to my niece's birthday party a couple weeks ago and my sister in law Kristin made this YUMMY mac and cheese. I have been looking for a good homemade mac and cheese recipe and trust me this is the one!! My girls ate it and loved it. Dave loved it because it has bacon! I had to have her email me the recipe so here it is!

7 Tablespoons Unsalted butter

1 clove of garlic minced

1 1/2 cups coarse bread crumbs ( I used Panko in the one I made for you guys)
1 bag for real bacon bits (or 6-7 peices of bacon, cooked and crumbled)

salt and ground pepper

1 pound elbow macaroni

1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk-warmed

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese-shredded

2 cups fontina cheese-shredded ( I used Dubliner cheese in the one I made, but any sharp cheese would work)

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

in a large frying pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender but not browned about 3 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and stir until coated with butter. I then added crumbled bacon. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cook the macaroni according to the directions until not quite al dente-it will go in the oven and cook more. Drain and set aside. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter to the pot used for the pasta and melt over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Reduce heat to medium-low and let bubble for 1 minute without browning. Gradually whisk in the milk, raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses along with the mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the pasta. Spread in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle evenly with the buttered crumbs. Bake until the crumbs are browned and the sauce is bubbling about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve.