Christmas Tree Shaped Ice Cream Food

CHRISTMAS TREE ICE CREAM CONES

Steps:

• Slice the pound cake crosswise 1/2 inch thick. Place an ice cream cone open-side down on 1 slice and stamp out a round of cake; remove the round to a plate. Repeat until you have 8 rounds of cake. (Save the cake scraps for another use).
• Turn a cardboard egg carton upside down. Cut a hole big enough to snuggly fit the pointy side of a sugar cone in 8 of the cups with a sharp paring knife. Insert 1 cone into each prepared hole. Fill the cones with ice cream, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Press the cake rounds on top of the ice cream to cap it off. Place the egg carton in the freezer while you make the meringue.
• Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water, but not touching the water.
• Whisk the sugar, egg whites, vanilla and salt in the stand mixer bowl. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue to whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are slightly frothy, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until the meringue is cool and can hold very stiff peaks, about 6 minutes. Add the food coloring and beat until just combined.
• Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a small star piping tip (see Cook's Note). Working with 1 cone at a time (leave the remaining in the freezer so the ice cream does not melt), place round-side down on a wire rack-lined baking sheet then pipe small stars all over the cone until completely covered. Decorate with sprinkles. Transfer to a plate and freeze while you decorate the remaining cones. Alternatively, use a small offset spatula to spread the meringue onto the cones and then decorate with sprinkles. Freeze until ready to serve, up to 3 days.

CHEESE AND CRACKERS CHRISTMAS TREE

Steps:

• Put the cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, shredded Cheddar and 1 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Mound about 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture on a serving plate and insert the pretzel rod vertically (the pretzel will help to hold up the structure). Add more of the cheese mixture, forming it around the pretzel rod and into a cone shape about 6 inches wide and 10 inches tall.
• Press the chopped parsley into the surface of the cheese tree to make it green, making sure to cover all the white areas. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Insert the pretzel sticks, mini butter crackers and almonds all over the tree, angled downward to create "branches". Take care to alternate the ingredients to add variety and depth. As you decorate the top, break the pretzel sticks in half so they are proportional to the size of the tree. Top the tree with one sliced almond for the "star". Tuck the pomegranate seeds in between the branches for festive "lights". Dust the edges with more finely chopped fresh parsley and grated Parmesan "snow". Serve with crackers on the side.