Appetizer Cheese Trees Food

APPETIZER CHEESE TREES

Steps:

• Mix cream cheese and Cheddar cheese; divide in half. Mix pesto into 1 half; mix onion, mustard and pepper sauce into other half. Cover each half and refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm enough to shape.
• Place cheese mixtures on cookie sheet. Shape each half into cone shape to look like Christmas tree. Roll trees in parsley, pressing parsley evenly onto trees. Press pine nuts onto trees in string form for garland. Press bell pepper pieces onto trees for ornaments. Top each tree with star shape cut from lemon peel if desired. Serve with crackers.

CHRISTMAS CHEESE TREE APPETIZER

Steps:

• In bowl, combine well the first 6 ingredients.
• Place on plate and with hands shape into an 8" tall cone-shape.
• Press chopped parsley on "tree" all over to make it green.
• With small star-shaped cookie cutter, cut approximately 1" stars out of slices of cheese. (You can make some of them bells or circles if you want.).
• Stick about 40-50 or so toothpicks halfway (or a little more)all over evenly spaced into tree.
• Stick "decorations"(cheese stars, cherry tomato halves round side out, and olives) onto toothpicks.
• Drape lemon peel around tree, spiraling downward, to resemble garland.
• Cut a larger cheese star for top of tree.
• Place assorted crackers in stacks around base of tree for "presents".

CHEESE & OLIVE APPETIZER TREE

Steps:

• Drain olives. Cut block of cheese horizontally into 2 pieces, each about 1/2 inch thick. Cut cheese with 1-inch star-shape canapé cutter. Cover cheese stars with plastic wrap.
• Break toothpicks in half as needed; push each olive onto toothpick half. Starting at bottom of cone, insert toothpicks until they stay securely in place. Continue placing olives in random order on tree, varying sizes and leaving spaces for the cheese stars. (For stability of the tree, place most of the larger olives near the bottom.)
• Push each cheese star onto toothpick half; insert into cone among the olives. Top tree with a cheese star that has been inserted horizontally on toothpick between points of star. Insert rosemary sprigs randomly between olives and cheese. Cover loosely and refrigerate no longer than 8 hours before serving.

CHEESE TWIST CHRISTMAS TREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Roll pastry into a 14-inch square, sprinkling with flour if necessary.
• Cut from the bottom corners up to the center top to make a triangle. Place the triangle on a prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator.
• Overlap the long edges of the 2 remaining pieces of pastry by about ½ inch to form a second triangle. Roll to flatten slightly. Place on the second prepared baking sheet and chill until needed.
• Remove the first triangle from the refrigerator. Lift the silicone liner and pastry off the pan and onto the counter. Trim about 1 ½ inches off the bottom of the triangle and cut a 2-inch piece from that strip. Tuck that piece under the triangle to make a trunk.
• Spread all but 1 to 2 tablespoons pesto sauce over the entire triangle, leaving ¼ inch exposed at the edges. Grate most of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the pesto. Place the second pastry triangle over top; stretch and pull it to fit, and trim off any extra dough as needed. Lightly press the edges together to seal and pat over the whole surface of the dough.
• Use a pizza wheel to cut ¾-inch horizontal strips on one side of the tree going from the outside edge in to about ¼ to ½ inch from the center; leave the center part connected to form the trunk. As you move up the tree, it may be easier to place the pizza wheel at the trunk and cut out to the edge. Repeat on the other side, lining up the cuts with the first side.
• Lift up each strip and twist 3 to 4 times. As you get up to the shorter pieces near the top, twist as many times as you can, but don't worry if you can't twist the strips at the very top.
• Brush remaining pesto over the center of the tree and any other spots you feel need it. Transfer the silicone liner back onto a baking sheet. Grate remaining cheese over top.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until pastry is fully cooked and well browned, 30 to 35 minutes; do not undercook.
• Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes before serving.

OLIVE APPETIZER TREE

Steps:

• Get a box of toothpicks and a 9 inch cone shape to begin. (green or white).
• Drain olives. Cut block of cheese into 1/2 inch thick slabs and cut 1 inch stars with a cookie cutter. Cover with wrap.
• Break toothpicks in half. Starting at the bottom of the cone, insert toothpicks in a random order and push olives onto them. Vary the olives and leave room for the cheese stars. Place larger olives near the bottom.
• Push each cheese star into a toothpick half, Top the tree with a cheese star and insert rosemary sprigs randomly.
• Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate no longer than 8 hours.

CHRISTMAS TREE CHEESE BALL

Steps:

• Add the cream cheese, Cheddar, cayenne, Worcestershire, scallions, lemon juice and some salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is almost smooth; you still want a few bits of cheese in there. Remove with a rubber spatula to a piece of plastic wrap and wrap up the cheese mixture. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Shape the cheese mixture with your hands into a Christmas tree/cone using the plastic wrap to keep it together. Mix the chopped parsley and dill together on a plate or work surface. Coat the shaped cheese in the chopped herbs.
• Transfer the cheese tree to the center of a platter. Decorate with the pomegranate seeds as ornaments. Serve with buttery crackers.