1. Place the butter, garlic, cheese, chives, and pepper in a bowl and beat to mix. Set the garlic butter aside.

2. Using a serrated knife, cut the bread sharply on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of the garlic butter on both sides of the bread slices. The bread can be prepared ahead to this stage, press the buttered slice back together as if reassembling the loaf and wrap them with plastic wrap. The buttered bread can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours.

3. Set up the grill for direct grilling using a two-zone fire. preheat one zone to medium-high and leave the other zone unlit so you can move the bread over it if it starts to burn.

4. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Place the bread slices over the medium-high zone of the grill and toast them until golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Don’t take your eyes off the grill for a second, as the bread can burn quickly. Serve the garlic bread hot off the grill.

VARIATIONS: Substitute ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil for the butter. Add some minced prosciutto and/or lemon zest. To make Caribbean grilled garlic bread, omit the cheese, use cilantro instead of chives, and add a little minced Scotch bonnet chile.