This is a recipe inspired by a cooking sensation, who is beloved on Instagram for all her home-cooked delicious meals. She makes cooking look so easy! A good chunk of my cooking inspiration comes from this person, so I had to recreate this Christmas tree pull apart bread in her honor and of course, in Mendocino style. The flavors of this bread burst into your mouth and is the perfect start to a Christmas dinner.
1 Pillsbury Pizza Crust
1 head garlic
1 tsp EVOO
Mendocino Spices All-Purpose Seasoning, to taste
1 stick butter, room temperature
½ cup grated Parmesan
3-2 tbsp store bought pesto
2 tbsp Mendocino Spices Pizza Topper
1 tsp Mendocino Spices Crushed Red Pepper
Marinara, for serving
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice off the top portion of the garlic head to expose some of the cloves. Place the garlic on a small piece of foil and drizzle with EVOO, Mendocino Spices All-Purpose Seasoning, and add two Pepitos Chilitos De Arbol on top and bake for 1 hour.
Let the garlic cool, then squeeze cloves out into a bowl. Discard De Arbol. Add 1 stick of butter, parmesan, and Mendocino Spices to the bowl of garlic. Mash garlic cloves into the butter with a fork.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out dough. Cut a large triangle, cutting from the bottom corner to the center of the top. Set large triangle on a piece of parchment paper. Peel away the corners of the dough and roll or press together the longest sides to form another big triangle.
Separate the 2 triangles and place 1 triangle on the prepared baking sheet. Spread 2/3 of the garlic butter over the triangle and continue to add dollops of pesto. Carefully place the second triangle on top, matching the corners. Using a pizza cutter, cut the triangle into horizontal slices about 1 in apart from the top to bottom, leaving the middle ‘trunk’ of the tree intact. Pull the strips and twist.
Brush the top with remaining garlic butter. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce.