Green Pesto Crescent Roll Christmas Tree Appetizers plus a Giveaway

Green Pesto Crescent Roll Christmas Tree Appetizers

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Before I begin, I want to congratulate Danielle.

Her comment was randomly chosen

and she has won a set of custom food labels

 from Bottle Your Brand.

If you didn't win, don't fret, 

I'm hosting another holiday giveaway today.

After you read about this savory edible craft for Christmas,

you will find out how you can win some

Extra Virgin Olive Oil from The Village Press. 

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My most popular project here on Hungry Happenings is my Crescent Roll Carrots and I've been thinking a lot about variations of this idea and am finally sharing one today. There are a lot of you who have purchased the cream horn forms to make those carrots, and I thought you'd like another recipe that will put them to use. 

I tried to come up with a way of creating a green Christmas tree out of Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheets and didn't want to just use food coloring. I wanted to create a tree that would taste great all on it's own, but could be filled too. There were a few failed attempts, but I finally landed on something I think tastes great and looks festive and fun for a Christmas party.

Each of the trees pictured above is coated with green pesto and sprinkled with some Parmesan cheese to make them look snow covered. I think the Christmas Tree Appetizers look good just as they are, but it would also be fun to decorate them, if you want to take that kind of time.

For the tree pictured at left, I cut some roasted red peppers into small circles and attached them to one of my trees. I also added a small star to the top, which fell off once baked. This tree was covered in dill, which I thought looked great, but ultimately tasted like you were eating grass on a crescent roll, so I don't suggest it, but I do love the addition of the red Christmas ornaments. 

Green Pesto Christmas Tree Appetizers (makes 12-15)

You'll need:

flour to dust cutting board

Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheets or puff pastry

about a cup of pesto (store bought or homemade - see recipe below)

2-3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Supplies:

cutting board

pizza wheel or knife

metal cream horn forms

baking sheet lined with parchment paper or non-stick tin foil

tongs

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Dust cutting board liberally with flour. Unroll Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet onto cutting board. Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut the dough into 3/8 inch wide strips. Wrap one strip around each of your cream horn forms in a spiral. 

Set your crescent dough covered cream horn forms on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Liberally brush green pesto all over your crescent roll trees.

Place in a preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes until the trees get golden brown.

Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. Return to oven for 30 seconds, just to make sure the cheese melts enough to stick to the trees.



While your crescent roll Christmas trees are still hot, remove them from the cream horn forms. Hold the open end of the cream horn mold with tongs. Gently tug on the widest end of the crescent roll tree and slowly pull it off the cream horn mold.

Serve your Green Pesto Christmas Tree Appetizers warm or cold. You can bake them ahead of your party and re-heat them before serving.  They taste great all on their own, but if you prefer, you can fill them with something savory, like I did with the crescent roll carrots. I used ham and egg salad for the carrots, but chicken salad or a cheese spread would taste great in these pesto trees.

If you'd like your trees to stand up, you will need to trim the bottoms to level them out. Just cut off any bumps using kitchen shears (scissors.) If any of the trees come apart when you pull them off the cream horn forms, just serve the now spiral tree alongside the whole trees, like I did!

Now, onto the giveaway and pesto recipe...

Recently The Village Press sent me a 34 ounce box of their 100% First Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil to try. Yes, I said a box. It's quite unique. The olive oil is packaged in a food-grade bag fitted inside a box which keeps it from being exposed to light which can interfere with the integrity of the oil and cause rancidity. 

Unlike a bottle that you pour, the box has a tap that you just open to allow the oil to drain out. As the oil flows out of the bag, the bag collapses on itself so air does not oxidize the oil. Pretty ingenious packaging that is totally recyclable, which I totally love (I recycle everything!)

I really enjoyed the buttery flavor of this oil which is made in New Zealand using Barnea olives. The oil has a pleasant green color and was a great addition to my homemade pesto.

Green Basil Pesto Recipe:

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (see how to toast nuts here)

4-5 cloves roasted garlic (see directions here) or use 2-3 raw garlic cloves for a sharper flavor

2 1/4 cups packed basil leaves

7 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese or good quality Parmesan

Place the pine nuts, roasted garlic, and basil leaves in a food processor and pulse until the leaves and nuts are chopped. With the food processor running, drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. Then add the cheese and pulse just to combine. 

NOTE: For really bright green pesto - before you begin the pesto recipe, bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the basil leaves. Stir for 20-30 seconds. Then immediately remove the basil and place in an ice water bath to cool. Spin dry in a salad spinner then proceed with the recipe above. 

GIVEAWAY

sponsored by The Village Press

Enter to win

Win a Box of 100% First Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil from The Village Press

Mandatory Entry: 

Leave a comment below. That's it. It's that simple. 

Bonus Entries (leave one comment for each thing you do)

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I moderate all the comments before they appear on the site,

 so it can take several hours for your entries to appear.

If you duplicate your entry, the duplicates will be deleted.

Rules: Giveaway begins 12/16/12 and runs through 12/21/12. If you have trouble leaving a comment, you can send your entry to beth@hungryhappenings.com and I will add your comment. Winner to be drawn at random from all valid entries. Entrants must reside in the United States and be over 18 years of age. (I'm so sorry to all of my world wide readers. Hosting an international contest has become too difficult due to all of the laws around the world.) Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Odds of winning are based on the total number of valid entries (maximum of four entries per person.) Winner will be notified and have 72 hours to respond. If the winner doesn't respond in that time frame, another winner will be chosen. This contest is in no way sponsored by Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, but it is sponsored by The Village Press.