Homegrown Sun-Dried Tomatoe Pesto Rolls

I had a half-batch of Vermont Cheddar dough left in my dough bucket in the fridge (see the previous post on cheddar bread) so I whipped out the dehydrated tomatoes that I made last year from some of my garden bounty.  They are like the store-bought ones only better because they aren't packed in oil; much healthier for you and I know exactly what's in them.  Just heirloom tomatoes...no preservatives.

I didn't have recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Pesto so I made one up.  Here's what I did:

Measure out 1/2 cup of dried tomatoes.  Cover the tomatoes with boiling water and let them re-hydrate for about 10 minutes.  Thoroughly drain off the water, and chop coarsely.  Shred 1/2 cup of either good Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.  Chop a handful of fresh herbs of your choice (I used oregano, basil, and Italian parsley from my garden), about a 1/4 cup total.  Coarsely chop 2 cloves of garlic.  Slowly add 2 Tab. of good extra virgin olive oil while pulsing in a food processor or chop all ingredients finely together and slowly stir in the oil.  (You could also add some nuts to this mixture if desired).  Add about 1/2 tsp. each of freshly ground pepper and kosher salt.  Taste and adjust your seasonings if necessary.  Set your pesto aside.

Roll your dough out onto a floured board into the shape of a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Spread the pesto on the dough, leaving a space around the edges so that it doesn't seep out when you roll and seal it.  Roll the dough up tightly into a log starting along the longer side and press the long edge together to make a good seal.

Now, this is where a GREAT TRICK comes in to play.  Take some clean dental floss.  Yes,you heard me;  dental floss.  I keep a dedicated container of it in my baking drawer.  Gently put the floss under the  roll and bring it over the top and cross the floss over the roll, and make an X with the two ends of floss; now pull tightly.  You will have cut a neat roll without having a sticky knife. Repeat cutting rolls with the floss evenly until all of the log is cut.  Grease a pan or cookie sheet and place the rolls on evenly. 

Make a wash with one beaten egg and 1 Tab. water or

 milk and brush it carefully on the rolls. Let them raise for at least 30 minutes or until almost double in size.  While the rolls are rising, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake the rolls for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and sprinkle with more shredded cheese and return to the oven just until the cheese melts.

Cool on a rack and serve. 

These would make great appetizers for a cocktail party if you made them miniature.  Frankly, a miniature one just won't do it for me.

B came home for lunch and said, "What smells so good in here?", immediately after walking in the door.

These are so good; so flavorful, and garlicky.  Your house will smell like an Italian kitchen, and that's a good thing. 

Hop on over to Big Black Dog and HBinFive to see what everyone else did with this challenge.

Cheese Bread

Cheese Bread....Yum.

My family loves artisan bread.  I must admit, we love most bread.  I went back to the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day master recipe which I have made many times before.  It's copyrighted but you can find it here. 

There is a Vermont Cheese bread recipe listed in the book and it uses the master recipe plus adds 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
I used Tillamook sharp cheddar and although it was very good, it could have used double the cheese. 

You can't go wrong with this recipe.  You really can't.  It is crusty and soft and pillowy with great moist crumb.  So good!!!

In the next day or two I am making up the other 1/2 of the batch into some great appetizer rolls with a few additions so stay tuned to this blog.

Check out Michelle's HBinFive page to see what others did with the challenge this month.  The oficial assignment was gluten-free cheddar and sesame, but since no one in my family's gluten-free I deviated and made something we would all eat.  If you are eating gluten-free you might want to try the official HBinFive challenge recipe.

I'm also submitting this to Two for Tuesdays.  Link over and see what the rest of that group did this week.