Home Appetizer Cheesy Pesto Pull-Apart Bread

Cheesy Pesto Pull-Apart Bread

by Jamie

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Last night after dinner, as my hands were elbow deep in a sink full of more dirty dishes than I dare admit, my counter top was littered with crumbs and sticky spots, the kitchen garbage can was overflowing, my children were grouchy and so was their mother and there were still several long hours until bed time…well, I got to thinking while I was standing there at that sink.

WHAT is the meaning of life? 
No. That wasn’t it.


Why do FOOLS fall in love? 
Not really it either. Pretty sure I know the answer to that one. It’s because love is so grand, of course.

The questions rolling through my mind were more of a play by play of my fantastic day. They went something like this.


Why did that yah-hoo at in the Walmart parking lot come within 5 inches of running into me with his window missing garbage sack flying dirty truck.
 Yes, ma’am. It crossed my mind. 

Why did that 50 pound bag of water softener salt split open when I was loading it into the back of my mini van and pour it’s grainy contents all over my groceries.
Can you blame a girl for wondering? Truly, can you. I’d just finished loading 4 other 50 pound bags of water softener salt into the back of my mini van. Shouldn’t that count for some kind of something wonderful?
 
Why is it that 5 year olds aren’t allowed to jump off the diving board or go down the big slide at the community pool, if they know how to swim? 
A pretty lame thing to dwell on, I admit. But my boys CAN swim, you know. Cross my heart and hope to…well. We don’t want anyone to die I suppose. Which is most likely why they have the rule and all. 


Why, oh why! do 99% of the sentences I hear in a day start with “Mom, will you…” or “Mom, can you…” and “Hey, Mom I really need you to…” and so on and so forth.
There are 5 of them, and only 1 of me you know. 

And do you want to know the thing that was bothering me the most? 

Why I would let myself get all grouchy and bothered on a day like this. It’s not like anything terrible happened. Just regular, hum drum, Plain Jane Ordinary, is all.
Would you be willing to let me blame it on wild and out of wack hormones. Please?

And that’s when I remembered, my friends.

Some days are just like that.
Even in Australia. (Name that book, anyone?)

Crossing my fingers that tomorrows Plain Jane Ordinary turns out to be better than todays Plain Jane Ordinary. 🙂
Say a prayer for my hormones, won’t you? Heaven knows they need all the help they can get.

 If you are a pesto lovin’ kind of person, this bread is going to be just the thing you have been waiting for. It’s cheesy, pesto-y and takes just minutes to prepare, really. Make it for dinner, make it for lunch, make it for your Spring Brunch, or Easter Dinner Side Dish Of Wonder, make it for your next Girls Night Out or your March Madness Party Hearty…what ever you make it for. 
It’s going to be good. 🙂

Cheesy Pesto Pull-Apart Bread
Time: 10 min. prep + 15 min. baking
Yield: 7 servings
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

1 large crusty loaf of bread, unsliced
1 C basil pesto
salt and pepper
2 C mozzarella cheese, grated
1 C Parmesan cheese, grated



1. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Set one large crusty loaf of bread in the center.


2. Slice the bread carefully, without cutting all the way to the bottom of the loaf. 


Then slice it going the other direction so that you have lots of little 1 inch squares all over the top of the loaf.


3. Grab yourself about 1 cup of pesto, pour it into a small bowl and add just a bit of salt and pepper.  I like to buy Pesto at Costco. It will keep for about a month in the fridge. If I don’t use it all and the expiration date is approaching, I pour it into and ice cube tray, cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the freezer. 
4. Using a butter knife, spread pesto inside the loaf along every sliced part of the bread. 


5. Pull the slices apart and push a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese into each little crevice. 


6. Wrap the bread up in the aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Uncover the bread and allow it remain in the oven until the cheese is melted and a bit golden in color. 
7. Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool just a bit before serving. 
***NOTE: This bread is best served warm from the oven. However, if you have leftovers store them in the refrigerator and reheat them in the microwave when you are ready to enjoy them. 

Enjoy!
Pinterest friendly image below…
Cheesy Pest Pullapart Bread from Jamie Cooks It Up!

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33 comments

kachers March 21, 2012 - 1:07 pm

Ha! It's from the kid book 'Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'! LOVE reading your blog – as do many of my friends – and trying your amazing recipes! This bread your chicken gnoochi soup look DIVINE! THANKS!

Reply
CampMama March 21, 2012 - 1:09 pm

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day! One of my all time favorite childrens books, and I force fed it to both of my kids!! 🙂

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Mandy March 21, 2012 - 1:35 pm

This looks amazing! Hope you have a better day today!

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Jana and Kyla March 21, 2012 - 2:18 pm

I am a pesto-y kind of person!! This looks absolutely divine!!

Hope you have a better day today (I'm praying for your hormones!!!:))

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emily and jared larsen March 21, 2012 - 4:16 pm

It's nice to hear that we are not alone in this not so ordinary Plain Jane kind of day. Mine was last week–got my FIRST speeding ticket at age 41, had my mom come in to watch 4 of the six kids to go to a DR. appointment–got there to find out it was the day before. And so on…. Come on over and we can have a little self pity party (only let it last till the chocolate is gone…then we can celebrate the better Plain Jane kind of days) Look forward to trying the bread–looks delicious! Thanks for a good giggle!

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ButterYum March 21, 2012 - 4:33 pm

a – those troublesome hormones… I soooooo feel your pain!
b – whatcha doing lugging those salt bags? that's a job I insist hubby do.
c – that yummy bread (and comfy slippers) make everything better!!

🙂

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Karen March 21, 2012 - 5:19 pm

Jamie – just for a little friendly perspective. My kids are grown now. My youngest started university away from home and my oldest is in college here, but grown none the less. I try so hard some days to try to replay their little voices in my head, to have them back for just a couple more minutes. I would give anything to hear “mom, can I have a cookie” or “mom will you tie my shoes”. It would reduce me to tears. Those days flew by and there isn't anything to replace them. Give em a hug, and soak in those little voices today. Someday you'll want to hit rewind. Oh, and the bread looks amazing!

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Mark March 21, 2012 - 6:25 pm

I so agree with Karen, I know raising my two sons (they are married now) I thought those horrible days would last forever on the day they were happening but soon all was forgotten and we were back to laughing and enjoying watching them grow…I too long for the days when they pestered me to death and begged and ask for silly stuff, God is good and has a great sense of humor for now He has given them boys of their own to raise and I get all the fun of being Grammie…and yes this bread is a must try for me….

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Amy March 21, 2012 - 7:38 pm

I know it! Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (I think I remembered all the adjectives). I just recently introduced my 7 year old to that book – a favorite from my childhood and he really likes it too. In fact, we had to check out the other Alexander books from the library.

I LOVE pesto. It makes a plain sandwich or pasta delicious, so I can't wait to try this bread with a nice bowl of yummy pasta.

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Michelle March 21, 2012 - 8:00 pm

WHY do I have to wait until tomorrow to make this?

Thanks for sharing the crazy “every-day-ness” that is your life.

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Julie E March 23, 2012 - 3:53 am

I'm such a bread FIEND and this pretty much sounds amazing! I'd love for you to come share at my linky party. 🙂

http://whitelightsonwednesday.blogspot.com/2012/03/wednesday-whatsits-1-link-party.html

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SEL?N ? Lezzet Günlü?üm March 23, 2012 - 1:17 pm

A very creative idea. Quick and delicious. I'll try your recipe, I like it. 🙂

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Heidi Lisa March 26, 2012 - 12:54 am

OMG! What a recipe!

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Kerrin March 26, 2012 - 8:44 pm

I am making this tonight. I can't wait. Do you use French Bread from the store, or do you use your home made French Bread?

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Jamie Cooks It Up! March 26, 2012 - 11:11 pm

Hi Kerrin,
I purchased the bread I used for this recipe, but it would work wonderfully with my homemade version as well. Good luck! Hope you love it!
~Jamie

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Kerrin March 28, 2012 - 3:21 am

It turned out great. I made this recipe with one loaf of french bread, I have a second loaf in the freezer, then I rolled cinnamon and sugar into the third one to make french toast with. Which we had today. Everything was a success!

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Joanie March 28, 2012 - 3:44 am

Oh My! Why isn't Costco open at 9:43 at night? I NEED this bread!!

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Susan Vilar May 17, 2012 - 2:59 am

This looks AMAZING! I'm definitely making it for our next craft day when the girls come over…. I've got a good crop of basil coming up in my AeroGarden…. will definitely get good use with this bread!!
Thanks so much for this fantastic idea.
Can't wait to try it.

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Judi Gant September 2, 2012 - 3:29 am

You’re a delight!!! Looking forward to trying that pesto/cheesy bread. I probably will use it as a main dish with a salad or soup!! Any other ideas for toppings? I was thinking of an olive tepennade (sp?) type thing. Keep the ideas coming!!!

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Hallie October 16, 2012 - 6:08 pm

Recipe looks great. Can’t wait to try it! Instead of freezing pesto when it’s close to its expiration, pack it firmly down in the jar with a spoon and cover it with a thin layer of olive oil. It will keep in your refrigerator for many months if you do this every time you use it.

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Chris October 27, 2012 - 5:45 pm

Everythung looks delish…can’t wait for more!

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lisa_c_b January 21, 2013 - 4:39 am

lovely recipe (and lovely blog)!
as an Italian, I really am that “pesto lovin’ kind of person”… and I will try your bread asap!

just one consideration, if I may dare… the pesto! store-bought is for sure the quicker solution (I have babies too so I know the advantages!), but the taste of an homemade one is completely different and deserve a chance to be tasted:). also, when you have the ingredients it takes five minutes to prepare, which is I think another good issue!

I have found a good English description and recipe in wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesto… although there are some mistakes: the pic of the so-called basil actually shows some MINT leaves… and the fettuccine are not fettuccine but “trenette”, which is the kind of pasta usually cooked in Genova when they prepare the pesto. but these are things not so important, and I noticed them only because I am quite familiar to the pesto topic (my hubby’s family is from Genova).

please let me know… should you not find them in your country, I will be more than glad to ship some trenette to you as a present for your so-inviting pesto bread version:)!

lisa

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Renee August 30, 2013 - 2:20 pm

Incredible! Will make this recipe a standard!

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Stephanie December 29, 2013 - 5:32 pm

Do you think this would do okay if I made it and froze it before baking it? Then defrost and bake or bake frozen? I love anything with pesto. My fav pesto meal is Walnut-Pesto Crusted Fish Tacos on my blog.

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Lisa August 5, 2014 - 11:19 am

i made it in mini-baguettes, like portion. it was so tasty and easy to eat and save. i would recommend to try them on mini-baguettes.

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Karen April 24, 2016 - 2:47 pm

If you’re not a fan of pesto, I bet this would be amazing using Spinach and Artichoke dip!

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