The most delicious way to get in the Halloween spirit. And bonus points for plenty of garlic breath to ward off vampires. You can use whatever cheese you have on hand, but grate it yourself. It’ll melt much better than the pre-shredded stuff filled with the anti-clumping agents.

For the eyes, I used sliced radishes, sliced red jalapenos, and a black peppercorn. You can easily sub for black olives, it’s for decoration more than anything else (I’m just not an olive fan).

Ingredients

• 1 loaf french bread
• 1/3 cup salted butter, softened
• 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp garlic salt (such as Lawry’s)
• 1 cup freshly shredded cheese (mozzarella, fontina, monterey jack all work)
• 1 small zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Olive oil
• For the eyes: black olives, red jalapenos, radishes, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the rounded ends of the loaf and then slice the bread in half lengthwise. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the bread on the baking sheet (cut side up).
2. In a bowl, mix together the butter, garlic, and garlic salt. Spoon and spread the mixture evenly over the surface of both bread halves. Put the bread back together (so the cut sides with the butter mixture are touching each other) and wrap the loaf in the aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the bread from the oven, open the foil and separate the bread so the pieces are cut side up. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bread and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
4. Remove from the oven and lay the zucchini strips over the cheesy bread in a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle the minced chives, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil over each piece. Add the “eyes” as decoration and serve warm.