A few months back, I bought a sesame bread loaf at the local farmer's market and decided to put it to two uses: a pea pesto crostini from a Giada de Laurentiis cook book I checked out from the library and the Cook's Illustrated Herbed Garlic Bread.
The Herbed Garlic Bread was amazing – really flavorful, easy to make, and wasn't too buttery or oily. The first time I made the bread, I used half of the sesame loaf/baguette and used a combination of chives, parsley and thyme. I used half the amount of butter called for in the recipe as well as used slightly less garlic (maybe 2 tsbp. of roasted, minced garlic). I baked the bread for 6 minutes and it was perfectly crusty, warm and delicious. The second time I made the bread, I used a combination of rosemary, thyme and chives. Rosemary was definitely the standout ingredient in the second run, and I think it should be definitely used in future versions as well.
The pea pesto crostini was far less exciting unfortunately. Although very easy to make with simple ingredients usually on-hand in my house (frozen peas, parmesan, olive oil, etc.), the result was fairly bland and the pea flavor was just too overwhelming (and I like peas!). So unfortunately, I think this recipe will not be repeated again for me.
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