Roasted Garlic, Roasted Tomatoes

I use these ingredients fairly often, so I figured I'd make a quick instruction page for roasting these two beauties. Enjoy them again and again!

Roasted Garlic:
1 head of garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F. Cut the tips of the garlic head, so that the cloves are exposed. Brush olive oil over the exposed cloves until well saturated. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic up in foil and roast for about 40-45 minutes. The cloves should be soft when pressed with a fork, but still moist.
Why roast garlic? More importantly, why NOT roast garlic?? It is creamy, mellow, sweet, nutty, and spreadable! You can use it in pasta dishes, spread it directly onto bread, or make some delicious compound butter, by mashing two or three heads of garlic into a stick of softened butter. Harden it back up in the fridge and use it to make garlic bread or stir into mashed potatoes. Amazing.

Roasted Tomatoes:
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper
ground thyme

Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Put a layer of parchment paper or foil onto a baking sheet to prevent any juice that leaks from burning your pan. Lay tomatoes onto the baking sheet, pour the olive oil over them evenly. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Roast for about 20 minutes in the oven.
Roasting enhances the tomatoes' flavor, and gives them a fun texture. Rocky isn't a huge tomato fan, but he really enjoys roasted tomatoes - they taste great in tons of different recipes! Toss them into a pasta or pasta salad. Use these as the base for your salsa or bruschetta in place of fresh, for a nice twist. Put 'em on a pizza! Go crazy with them - they're delicious.

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