IT'S OK TO LOVE GARLIC BREAD by Steven Raichlen

Americans have certainly become more sophisticated during the past 10 years in their appreciation of Italian cuisine. We flock to Tuscan, Piedmontese and other northern Italian-style restaurants. We savor extra virgin olive oils with the connoisseurship of oenophiles sipping wine. We devour grissini, crostini and focaccia with a gusto we once reserved for sliced, white bread.

In our rush to become cognoscenti of authentic Italian cooking, however, we have turned our backs on many of the Italo-American specialties we grew up on. The sort of fare served at restaurants with red lights, red checkered tablecloths and candles in chianti bottles. The homey sort of Italian fare embodied by a dish like garlic bread.

Garlic bread isn't really Italian. I've never seen it at a restaurant in Italy. Mention pan al aglio to the average Italian and he'll look at you with incomprehension. Like spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread is an Italo-American creation, a dish made with Italian ingredients, but firmly rooted in American soil.

Garlic bread may have been inspired by Roman bruschetta, Tuscan fettunta, or Piedmontese soma d'ai -- variations on a theme of grilled bread drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with cut garlic. But it took a trip across the Atlantic to raise this rustic snack to the level of art.

Sophisticated? No. Delectable? You betcha! Garlic bread has rounded out innumerable college spaghetti feasts and budget dinners. It may not be trendy, but it sure is tasty, fun and easy to prepare. So, it's about time to rehabilitate this Italo-American classic.

Garlic bread requires just three ingredients: garlic, butter (or oil) and bread. The bread should be crusty on the outside, firm and white on the inside. If you're in a hurry, you can slice partially through the loaf, leaving the slices attached at the bottom. Spread the garlic butter between the slices and bake the loaf until crisp. Garlic bread prepared in this fashion will have a strong flavor, as most of the garlic is not exposed directly to the heat.

I prefer to slice the bread, toast it, and spread the garlic butter on top. To make crisp garlic bread, brush the slices with olive oil or melted butter and bake them in a 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. To make soft garlic bread, spread the garlic butter on fresh bread slices and heat them under the broiler until lightly browned (2 to 3 minutes). For more crusty bread use a French-style baguette; for a more doughy product use Italian-style bread.

When buying the garlic, look for firm, heavy heads, with unblemished cloves that are tightly wrapped in their papery skins. Green shoots or shriveled cloves are indicative of garlic that has been sitting around too long.