Easy Christmas Tree Pesto Breadsticks

I made this on Christmas night for an appetizer. You can use ready made pesto or olive tampamade. two Pepridge farm puff pastry sheets are an easy canvas. spread the pesto on an entire sheet. Cover with the remaining sheet. Use a knife to cut a triangle shape. Leave a small rectangle shape at the base. Starting at the top, cut to the middle leaving a two inch strip in the center. Take each strip and twist. Mix one egg with a splash of water. Use a pastry brush and brush the egg on top of the tree. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and kosher salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve when hot! While it's hot you can also dust the tree with real Parm cheese.

Puff Pastry Christmas Tree

2 sheets Pepridge Farm puff pastry sheets
1 jar Classico pesto
1 egg and a splash of water (1tsp)
sesame seeds
kosher salt
Parm Cheese optional

Easy Pomegranate Dark "Ice Cube" Chocolates

I saw this idea on Facebook for these cute and easy pomegranate dark chocolates. Pomegranates happened to be on sale at my grocery store. I used an regular ice cube tray sprayed with PAM. For the chocolate I used one package of Nestle Toll House dark chocolate chips. I have seen people whack the pomegranate to get the seeds out but I prefer to cut it down the center.

Prepare the chocolate in a double boiler. First use a pot that is small enough to fit a glass bowl a bit bigger on top. Fill with water so it's not touching the bowl. Bring the water below to a boil.  Add the chocolate chips and a tsp. of oil. This will make the chocolate silky. Use a whisk to stir the chips until melted. Use a spoon to add one half of the chocolate to each of the compartments in the ice cube tray. Add 3-5 of the seeds and then a tsp. or so of chocolate on top of the pomegranates. Tap the tray on the counter to remove any air bubbles and even out the chocolate. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes or until set.  Twist the tray to remove the chocolates. This is why the PAM is essential. If you have some ones that one come out, use a sharp steak knife to remove. Next, hide them from your family! These ones are keepers!