Summer Party Foods Made with Fresh Garlic

If you are a garlic lover, this is so easy, delicious, and inexpensive to make you will wonder why you never made it before. First, get yourself a few garlic heads at the grocery store; they sell them in the 5 or 10 packs if you want to buy in bulk. With a sharp knife, slice off the cap or the head of each bunch - enough so that you can see the tips of the garlic cloves inside their casings.

Add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil into a bowl, and then dip each of the garlic heads into the bowl saturating them with oil. Set each garlic head onto a 4" x 4" piece of tin foil, and add salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.

Then close the foil wrapping each head individually. Set them in a pan that has sides as the oil may drip or be sloppy to handle. Put them on the grill for about an hour. The smell of roasted garlic is a great way to greet party guests; and provides something a bit different to serve that will withstand heat and sunshine. Use crackers, or any kind of bread, and if you prefer, toast it a bit on the grill too, right before serving.

Grilled Bruschetta Bread - Prep time - 20 minutes

I like to make this up in big batches and then fire up the gas grill as I need it throughout the day. This is filling enough to be considered pizza but it can also be used as an appetizer.

Chop 10 or more tomatoes (I use plum or camilari's), a bit of white onion or chives, a few tablespoons of fresh basil, and fresh garlic (5 cloves) or more depending upont taste.

Mix up in a bowl with 2 Tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper as you like it, and add chopped fresh mozzarella. Stir and let marinate for an hour or more in the refrigerator. When ready, slice fresh loaves of French-bread, Ciabetta, or Italian bread down the middle to form two long halves.

Put halves on tin foil, and then generously spoon over the brushetta mixture and set on the grill on the tin foil for about 20 minutes. (or you can bake in the oven at 350 for 15-20 mins). I usually do 4 half loaves at a time, and then slice them up in easy to hold pieces, and put them in a bread-basket. These can withstand the heat and are awesome to munch on, anytime of day or night, even when they get cold as long as they are not soggy, be sure to cook long enough.

Pulled Chicken with Garlicky BBQ sauce - Prep time - 5 minutes

Place two pounds of boneless breast of chicken in a Crockpot. Cover with Hickory BBQ sauce and a 5 cloves of chopped up garlic. Cook on high for about 4 hours, and then dump out the liquid and dump in another jar of Honey BBQ sauce and two chopped up cloves of garlic.

After cooking for about 8 hours, use a fork and break up the chicken into tiny shreds. Add some more BBQ sauce so that the meat is saucy (like spaghetti sauce) and set to low. Serve with snowflake rolls, hamburger rolls, or italian bread. Garnish with fresh cracked red pepper and shredded cheese.

I hope you enjoy these easy to prepare, delightfully delicious and heat resistant fresh garlic summer party food recipes.