Baked Pesto And Sun Dried Tomato Appetizer Recipes

BAKED PESTO AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO APPETIZER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Unroll crescent dough; separate into four rectangles. Place two of the rectangles, side-by-side, on nonstick baking sheet. Firmly press seams and perforations together to seal. Reserve remaining dough for decorative garnish.
• Cut block of cream cheese horizontally in half. Spread pesto onto bottom half of cream cheese; cover with tomatoes. Top with remaining cream cheese to form sandwich. Place in center of dough. Bring up ends of dough around all sides of cream cheese to enclose completely; pinch ends of dough together to seal. Place, seam-side down, on baking sheet. Cut remaining crescent dough into small fun shapes, such as leaves or fruit. Arrange on top of dough.
• Bake 20 min. Serve warm with assorted crackers and fresh vegetables.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PESTO

Steps:

• Place sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with warm water for 5 minutes, or until tender.
• In a food processor or blender combine sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, pine nuts and onion; process until well blended. Add vinegar, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and red wine, and process. Stir in olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt to taste.

POTATOES STUFFED WITH PESTO AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Gently scrub potatoes, but do not peel. Pierce potatoes several times with fork. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced in center with fork. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Cut each potato lengthwise in half; scoop out insides into medium bowl, leaving a thin shell. Add milk to potatoes; mash with potato masher or electric mixer until no lumps remain (amount of milk needed will vary depending on type of potato used). Stir in pesto, tomatoes, olives and 1/2 cup cheese. Fill potato shells with mashed potato mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake about 20 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with basil and additional cheese.

BAKED PESTO & SUN-DRIED TOMATO APPETIZER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Unroll crescent roll dough (I use Pillsbury); separate into 4 rectangles.
• Place 2 of the rectangles side by side, on a nonstick baking dish. Firmly press seams and perforations together to seal. Reserve remaining dough for decorative garnish.
• Cut the block of cream cheese horizontally. Place one half on the pastry. Spread with 2 tsp basil pesto and 2 tsp of finely chopped and drained oil packed sun dried tomatoes. Place the other half of the cream cheese on top to form a sandwich.
• Bring up sides of dough to encase the cream cheese completely and decorate with remainder of dough.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND PESTO TORTA

Steps:

• Finely chop garlic in processor. Add basil, 1/4 cup pine nuts, oil and lemon juice. Process until well blended. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Using on/off turns, process just until blended. Transfer pesto to medium bowl.
• Coarsely chop tomatoes in processor. Add tomato paste and process until mixture is almost smooth. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese and blend well.
• Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spray 6-cup soufflé dish with nonstick spray. Line with plastic wrap, extending plastic over sides. Spread 3/4 cup cream cheese-butter mixture evenly over bottom of prepared dish. Top with half of tomato mixture, then 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture, then half of pesto mixture. Repeat layering with 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture, remaining tomato mixture, 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture and remaining pesto. Top with remaining cream cheese-butter mixture. Cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Invert torta onto platter. Peel off plastic. Garnish with basil sprigs and toasted pine nuts. Serve with baguette slices.

BAKED FETA SPREAD WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Combine feta cheese, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes (plus some of the oil), garlic, lemon juice, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt in a large resealable plastic bag and allow to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Transfer ingredients to a small oven-proof stone dish or ramekin.
• Bake in the preheated oven until spread bubbles and is slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

PESTO & SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD

Steps:

• cream together the cheeses, until well blended.
• add the pesto and tomatoes.
• put into a serving dish/shape into a rectangle.
• top with walnuts.
• chill and serve.