American-style garlic bread is a descendant of Italian bruschetta and crostini. The first recipe we found was published in 1940 in Edith Barber’s Cook Book, written by the editor of the New York Sun food column. [Source]

The Americanized version used a baguette or narrow loaf of Italian bread, substituted butter for oil, mixed with garlic powder/salt instead of rubbed with cut fresh garlic cloves, and topped with dried oregano. It might also include grated Parmesan or other cheese.

The loaf is sliced vertically or horizontally, topped with the butter spread and heated in a hot oven (400°F). Often, the loaf was sliced vertically and buttered between the slices before heating. Our Mom first lightly toasted the bread slices crostini-style, though she didn’t hear the word “crostini” for decades.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF GARLIC BREAD

American garlic bread began life as bruschetta, a peasant food. Some sources say it was made in ancient times, others cite medieval times as the origin. It was common for Italian peasants, who lacked costly ceramic plates, to eat their meals on slices of grilled bread. Charred, bread, rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, was grilled over the fire.

In medieval cuisine, “sops” were common across Europe: stale bread soaked in broth, soup, or wine and topped with other foods.

These days, garlic bread is old school, and bruschetta and crostini are the rage. Here’s the old-school recipe, followed by an example of the new school.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CLASSIC GARLIC BREAD (OLD SCHOOL)

This recipe first slices the entire loaf in half, horizontally.

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE butter and garlic in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the top of the slices and sprinkle with parsley (you can also blend the parsley into the butter).

2. PLACE on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Broil for an additional 2 minutes or until golden brown, 4-6 inches. from the heat.

3. CUT into 2-inch slices. Serve warm.

[3] Spring peas: a delicious complement. No need to cook them; just shell them.

RECIPE #2: GARLIC CROSTINI WITH SPRING PEAS & BURRATA (NEW SCHOOL)

Ingredients For 3-4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. DRAIN the whey from the burrata in a colander lined with a paper towel. Don’t pierce the skin of the burrata.

2. TOAST the bread until golden brown—even with a bit of char around the edges. Rub the tops with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with olive oil.

3. USE clean hands (instead of slicing) to carefully divide the burrata among the three pieces of toast, including all the creamy drippings. Divide the peas, olives and herbs among the slices.

4. FINISH with a hearty drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cut in half or allow each dinner to do so.
 
 
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD

Check them out in our Bread Glossary.

Also: The history of bread.

Top: Classic Chess Pie from Zulka Sugar. Second: Lemon Chess Pie from Good Eggs | SF. Third: Pumpkin Chess Pie from Midwest Living (recipe). Bottom: Tangerine Chess Pie from Southern Living (recipe).

Chess Pie is a venerable Southern recipe that likely has nothing to do with the game of chess.

It’s a one-crust, sweet, rich custard pie made with basic ingredients found in every kitchen: butter, eggs, flour, milk, sugar and vanilla—plus two distinctive ingredients, cornmeal and vinegar. A one-bowl recipe, simply stirred, Chess Pie, which dates back to Colonial times, has remained popular over the generations.
 
THE HISTORY OF CHESS PIE

An early version appears in Martha Washington’s Booke Of Cookery, comprising recipes handed down from her first husband’s mother, Frances Parke Custis, possibly at her marriage in 1750. The first known recipe called Chess Pie appears in the 1877, in Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping by Estelle Woods Wilcox.

We will probably never know how Chess Pie got its name, but here are the four prevailing theories:

 
Early variations added lemon juice or pie spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Some added flaked coconut or toasted pecans. Some substituted part of the milk with buttermilk (buttermilk or lemon juice provides acid that can substitute for the vinegar). When cocoa powder became available, it was whisked right in to make Chocolate Chess Pie.
 
RECIPE: CLASSIC CHESS PIE

You can save time with refrigerated pie crusts, or make your own. This classic recipe from Southern Living saves time with a refrigerated crust.

Other Southern Living recipes include Chocolate-Pecan Chess Pie, Grapefruit Chess Pie, Lemon Chess Pie, Orange Chess Pie and Tangerine Chess Pie. Some use a traditional flaky pie crust, some use a shortbread crust.

We also found a lovely Pumpkin Chess Pie, a Cookie Chess Pie with Oreos and numerous other variations. Have a favorite flavor? Incorporate it into a Chess Pie!
 
Ingredients

 
For A Cocoonut Chess Pie

1. FIT the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, according to package directions. Fold the edges under and crimp.

2. LINE the crust with aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 425° for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the weights and foil; bake 2 more minutes or until golden. Cool.

3. STIR together the sugar and the other ingredients except the eggs, until blended. Then add the eggs one at a time, stirring well, followed by the optional coconut.

4. POUR the mixture into the pie crust. Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes. After 10 minutes, to prevent excessive browning, shield the crust edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield—very useful if you make a lot of pies. Cool completely on a wire rack.
 
WANT MORE PIE?

Check out our Pie & Pastry Glossary and pick something new.
  

Here’s something different: A cocktail based on muddled herbs. The Chervil Sour was created by Jeff Bareilles, Wine and Beverage Director at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos, California.

 
RECIPE: CHERVIL SOUR

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE the chervil and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker or pint glass. Add all other ingredients and ice. Shake vigorously until egg white is frothy.

2. STRAIN into a coupe glass and top with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters and garnish with a small chervil leaf.
 
 
WHAT IS CHERVIL?

Chervil, sometimes called garden chervil or French parsley, is an annual herb related to parsley, but more delicate in both appearance and flavor. It has a faint taste of licorice or anise seed.

Chervil is a popular French seasoning for poultry, seafood and vegetable dishes (the word in French is cerfeuil, sir-FOEY).

[2] A bunch of fresh chervil (photo © Herb Table).

Hardy herbs—bay leaf, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme—will stay green for a week or two in the fridge (keep them dry in the produce drawer).

Delicate herbs—basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, tarragon—wilt and turn yellow faster, and need special attention. 

[2] Getting ready to make BLT Pancakes.

[3] Baby arugula (photo © Baldor Specialty Foods | Facebook).

This recipe was created by Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest for Wisconsin Cheese Talk, who used Wisconsin-made quark in the recipe.

“Quark is like ricotta’s saltier cousin mixed with a creamy version of feta,” says Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest, who shared this recipe with the Wisconsin cheese folks.

“When I first tried it, I had so many ideas of how to use quark in my recipes, but one recipe stuck out: these BLT Quark Pancakes with Chipotle Bourbon Dressing.”

Here’s more about quark, a fresh cheese that looks like sour cream and yogurt.

Check out Half Baked Harvest. You’ll want to eat every recipe!

 
RECIPE: BLT QUARK PANCAKES WITH CHIPOTLE BOURBON DRESSING

Serve these pancakes for brunch, lunch, or even as a first course at dinner. The recipe serves 6 as an entrée, 12 as a starter.

If you can’t find quark, substitute ricotta. The biggest challenge is when to make the recipe:

It’s a recipe for tomato season, but it seems a shame to wait for July’s crop of heirloom tomatoes. So the next best thing is to substitute cherry tomatoes (in addition to the ones already in the recipe.

Ingredients

For The Chipotle Bourbon Dressing

 
For The Quark Pancakes

 
For The Topping

 
Garnishes

1. MAKE the Chipotle Bourbon Dressing: In small saucepan over medium heat, bring the bourbon, if using, to a boil. Cook until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, chipotle pepper and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste; whisk to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.

2. MAKE the Quark Pancakes: Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Combine 8 ounces of quark, the buttermilk and egg yolks in a separate, larger mixing bowl. Add the flour, honey, baking soda and salt to the batter, stirring gently until just combined. Stir a small scoop of egg whites into the mixture to lighten the batter; then fold in the remaining beaten whites with a spatula.

3. HEAT a skillet over medium heat. Coat with butter or cooking spray. For entrée-size pancakes, pour 1/3 cup of the pancake batter onto the center of the hot skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on the pancake’s surface. Using a spatula, gently flip the pancake; cook the second side until golden. Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven.

5. ASSEMBLE: Stack the pancakes on serving plates; top with the bacon, tomato slices, halved cherry tomatoes and arugula. Add a dollop of whipped quark cheese and drizzle with the reserved dressing.
  

[2] Nettles.

[3] Green garlic.

Today’s tip is a reminder not to let the brief season pass you by (it ends this month, depending on your location).

WHAT ARE NETTLES?

Stinging nettles, Urtica dioica, are slightly bitter green herbs that grow wild in the spring. Other names are common nettles and wild nettles.

They are members of Urticaceae, family of flowering plants, also known as the Nettle Family. The family includes other useful plants, including ramie, which is used to make fabric.

Different varieties grow worldwide, many without the sting. Those that are picked with garden gloves (rubber kitchen gloves work, too). The sting comes from chemicals* in the plant. Once stinging nettles are blanched, boiled or soaked in water, the sting is gone.

In North America, nettles sprout up very briefly in early spring and late fall, growing like weeds at the edges of cultivated farmland. That’s why the best place to find them is farmers markets.

Why go after something that stings? They have charming flavor, a bit like spinach with a cucumber undertone. You can use as a substitute for cooked spinach.

You can find numerous nettles recipes online, but we’ll start you off with some soup and pesto.
 
RECIPE #1: POTATO, NETTLE & GREEN GARLIC SOUP

This recipe, from Good Eggs, unites two limited spring vegetables: nettles and green garlic. The soup tastes even better the next day. Prep time is 20 minutes, total time is 45 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 2-3 Servings

1. PLACE the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Salt the water generously—it should be salty as ocean water—and add the bay leaves and a handful of the green garlic tops. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 25-30, minutes or until potatoes are soft but not falling apart. Drain in a colander and cool by spreading the potatoes in a single flat layer on a tray. While potatoes are boiling…

2. SAUTÉ the onion in a large stock pot with a tablespoon each of butter and olive oil over medium-low heat, until soft and translucent. Add the minced green garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes, until soft and aromatic.

3. HALVE or quarter the cooled potatoes, depending on size, and add to the onions and garlic. Stir gently to combine. Add the chicken stock to the pot until the potatoes are just covered; bring to a boil.

4. TURN off the heat and purée half the soup in a blender. Use a kitchen towel to hold down the lid of the blender and be careful of steam and hot splashes. You can also use an immersion blender. If you prefer a more rustic soup, you can lightly mash the potatoes with the back of a spoon or a potato masher, instead of puréeing.

5. USE protective gloves, a kitchen towel or tongs and carefully de-stem and wash the nettles (we cut them from the stems with a kitchen scissors). Drain them in a colander, then chop roughly. Fold into the hot soup and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve hot with a generous dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chives and parsley.

RECIPE #2: NETTLE & PISTACHIO PESTO

Nettles make a delicious pesto; here are 20+ ways to use pesto.

This recipe is from Quinciple.com, a premier meal delivery service.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. DE-STEM the nettle leaves: Hold onto the stem with tongs and use your other hand to carefully snip the leaves with kitchen scissors.

2. BRING a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the nettles by adding the leaves to the water for 1-2 minutes. Remove them with tongs or a slotted spoon, and place them in an ice bath (a bowl with water with ice cubes) to cool. Once the nettles are cool to the touch, strain and squeeze all water from the leaves.

3. ROUGHLY CHOP the blanched leaves and add them to a food processor with the garlic, pistachios, lemon juice and zest, cheese, salt and pepper. Pulse into a coarse paste. Then stream in the olive oil to the desired consistency or about 1/3. Serve immediately or store in a jar for up to 5 days.
 
MORE WAYS TO SERVE NETTLES

Like most herbs, nettles are good for you, rich in calcium, iron, manganese, potassium and vitamins A and C. They have been called “seaweed of the land” because of their complete spectrum of trace minerals and their soft, salty flavor.

[4] and [5] Nettle pesto from Quinciple.com.

 
Until next spring!