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This recipe that I’m sharing today is our #1 appetizer for Thanksgiving. When we pull it out of the oven… it gets gobbled up immediately!
People who arrive late to our Thanksgiving feast often don’t get to try this wonderful appetizer as it is already gone!
Yes, the onions here look a little burned, but I assure you they do not taste overdone! They are PERFECT! I’m drooling wishing I were eating these right now!
1 lb. tart apples, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick (I usually use Granny Smith, but I have made it with Honeycrisp which was really nice too!)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 oz. Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated
2 Tbs. minced fresh chives
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 package frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 2 Tbs. water
Directions:
In a large fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let the filling cool to room temperature.
Position 1 rack in the upper third and 1 rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the apples and sugar and stir to coat the apples. Cook, stirring, until the apples are just starting to caramelize and have softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the onions and stir in the cheese, chives, thyme and the pepper.
Cut the puff pastry into 2-inch squares and place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing the squares about 1 inch apart. Brush the pastry squares with the egg mixture and place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each square. Season lightly with additional salt and pepper.
Bake at 400F, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the pastry is crisp underneath and golden brown on top, about 25 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the tarts cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or warm. Makes 32 tarts.
A helpful HINT:
If you can, use Trader Joe’s Frozen Puff Pastry! It is made with REAL BUTTER. Pepperidge Farm’s puff pastry is made with oil and it just doesn’t quite have the same taste as puff pastry made with real butter. Trust me.
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Entertaining season is coming up and I’ve rounded up some great looking charcuterie boards for inspiration for your next party.
First, you need a board to serve all of your food on. You can see some of my favorites here.
A beautiful Fall board by @ainttooproudtomeg – actually, just go check out her whole website here which is dedicated to making various boards. All the ingredients on this board came from Trader Joe’s – by Style your Senses.
Then you need… FOOD!
Cheese– Choose a variety of cheeses. Mix soft and hard cheeses, along with sharper and more mild cheese.
Meat– Again, choose a variety of cured meats with different flavors.
Bread and crackers – Mix a sliced baguette with a variety of different crackers.
Dips- Jelly, jams and honey are a good choice. You can also do a spinach dip, cheese dip, etc… whatever floats your boat!
Fruit- I like to include grapes, apples, mandarins, berries. Use what’s in season! Dried apricots are good too.
Nuts – I love to use the mixed nuts from Costco. But also, a special mention is Marcona Almonds… drooooool.
Veggies – A few veggies such as carrots, cherry tomatoes or cucumbers are a good option . Use what is in season!
Sweets – Now, if you want, you can add a few sweets to the board, such as dark chocolate bites or truffles.
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A quick and easy Fall / Halloween snack mix recipe for you today!
It has a mixture of sweet and salty. You can mix in literally whatever you want!
For this specific mix I used:
Cheez-Its
Mixed salted nuts
Cheerios (specifically maple cheerios)
cheese popcorn
candy corn
You can mix in whatever various snacks you want though! Just choose a blend of sweet and salty – that’s what makes it good!
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Is there anything as good as fresh homemade bread hot out to the oven slathered in butter??
I have been wanting to make my own bread for a while now. I even purchased a Miele steam oven so that I could work on perfecting my homemade bread.
But perfection doesn’t happen overnight! Enter… The Bread Chronicles.
Chapter 1. Let’s roll this back several months ago. I tried to make my own starter from scratch following the recipe from Eric Kayser’s Book of Bread (side note: Eric Kayser is a French chef who makes some of the best bread ever! Go to his cafes if you are in Paris).
If you don’t know anything about bread, let me break this down for you. Bread needs a starter. A starter is made of yeast, flour and water. You feed the starter every day to keep it alive. Yes, the bread is literally a living thing. You may have heard about the Boudin San Francisco sourdough starter that has been growing for 150 years – it’s true (if you remember from high school biology, yeast is a clone of itself).
Baby Groot
So I named my starter Groot, after the Marvel superhero since he is a tree and regenerates and my starter is a, uh, yeast and regenerates. Well, after a few bad loaves of bread, it got contaminated with some other mold I think because I didn’t have a proper place to store it. I got mad since I had been babying this thing for a few weeks and I gave up.
Chapter 2. We decided to use a brotform and made a Country Loaf from Eric Kayser’s book. While it looks good, it didn’t taste that great. It also didn’t rise like it should.
Below is after baking. Just okay. For those that have a steam oven, I’m including the steam oven settings because there isn’t too much on the internet about baking bread with steam ovens. Here were the settings I baked this one on:
I think part of the problem with the one above is the oven settings. We thought letting the bread start with higher humidity at a lower setting would allow the yeast to expand more. It ended up tasting just… meh.
Chapter 3. I tried King Arthur Flour’s Rustic Sourdough Recipe. The result: crust was pretty good. The bottom was soggy (didn’t use a baking stone – decided from here on out we needed to use a baking stone). But it didn’t rise like it does in the picture. I still ate half of it! Pretty tasty still.
Here are the oven settings for this bread:
Combisteam,Surround, 210F, 10 min, 100% humidity
Combisteam,Surround, 425F, 8 min, 100% humidity
Combisteam,Surround, 425F, 20 min, 0% humidity
Chapter 4. We tried a Sourdough Boule recipe from Bouchon Bakery. As you can see, this is the best one yet! The crust was perfect. But it didn’t rise as much as we were hoping. Also, we did a half recipe, which could have been part of the problem (only a half recipe because we were short on starter!)
Here are the oven settings for this one:
Combisteam,Convection Bake, 425F, 1 hour, 0% humidity. *NOTE* You place your baking stone in the oven for the hour and let it heat up. Do not put your bread in yet! This is just to heat up the oven and heat the stone.
Combisteam,Convection Bake, 425F, 20 min, 100% humidity. *NOTE* 1 min before the steam injection starts, put your bread onto the stone, make your lame marks and then close the door. You want to do this before the steam injection starts so you don’t get a face full of superheated steam!
After this promising success, I was determined to make it again but with the full recipe.
Chapter 5. Ok, since I had made a half batch last time, I made a full batch this time for the Sourdough Boule from Bouchon Bakery. The thing I didn’t do that the recipe stated was to the form the boule. Instead I used the brotform. I also proofed it in the warming drawer instead of room temp (it was cold today and the house was cold).
Here are the baking settings, same as above.
Combisteam,Convection Bake, 425F, 1 hour, 0% humidity. *NOTE* You place your baking stone in the oven for the hour and let it heat up. Do not put your bread in yet! This is just to heat up the oven and heat the stone.
Combisteam,Convection Bake, 425F, 20 min, 100% humidity. *NOTE* 1 min before the steam injection starts, put your bread onto the stone, make your lame marks and then close the door. You want to do this before the steam injection starts so you don’t get a face full of superheated steam!
Here it is! SUCCESS!!!! I think next time I’ll bake it for an extra 5 minutes, since I like my crust a little crunchier. Below is a picture of the crumb. Quite tasty!
We made grilled cheese with it. Dubliner cheese by Kerrygold makes for the best grilled cheese sandwiches, FYI. Pick up a block of cheese at Costco for the same price as a little chunk at Trader Joe’s!
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The other appetizer we are going to make this Thanksgiving are these pear, blue cheese, and green pepper appetizer bites! It sounds a bit strange, but the flavors actually go really well together and make it pretty dang tasty!
The bites are getting ready to go in the oven…
…done and out of the oven!
Ingredients
1-2 sheets of pre-made puff pastry dough, thawed
2 Bosc pears
2 Anaheim green peppers
1 clove garlic, crushed, peeled, and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 slice of gorgonzola cheese, crumbled*
1/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts, roasted
2-3 tbsp water
Directions
First, prepare the Anaheim pepper relish:
1. Place grill on stove and char all of the skin on the green Anaheim peppers. Wrap in aluminum foil and let cool for 10 minutes.
2. Then wash the peppers under running water and the skin will rub right off. Seed the peppers.
3. In a bowl, combine peppers, garlic, and salt until it forms into a thick paste
4. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small pan and sauté the onions. Then add the garlic/pepper mixture to the onion and add 2-3 tbsp of water. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until the raw garlic flavor is gone.
5. Set aside until thickened and cool.
Prepare the Puff Pasty dough
1. Let the puff pastry dough thaw from the freezer. Then use 1 to 1.5 inch cookie cutters and cut out bite-sized pieces. I used pie stamp cutters as above. Now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 375F.
Prep the Pears
While the dough is thawing, trim, peel, halve, core and cut the pears into small little slices. Set aside.
Assembly
1. Put approx 1 tbsp of onion/pepper mixture onto each puff pastry bite. Then add a few pieces of pear to each bite.
2. Bake in oven at 375F until puff pastry is golden brown, approximately 15 minutes.
3. Then pull out of oven, and place a few blue cheese crumbles on each bite. Then return to the oven for a few minutes until the blue cheese has melted.
4. Remove from oven once blue cheese is melted, and place some chopped roasted walnuts on top.
5. Enjoy! We liked these better warm!
*You can use other blue cheeses too, we just like gorgonzola! This recipe was adapted from Pham Fatale.
We used all different cookie/pie cutters for our bites. We made acorn bites, pumpkin bites, and turkey bites. I personally preferred the acorn bites, they were one bite worth for me. The turkey was two bites worth!
Looking pretty tasty!
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My husband and I love to host Thanksgiving – I think it is because he loves to cook, we both love to bake, and I love to set up pretty tables!
We’ve been hosting Thanksgiving for 3 of the past 4 years (last year couldn’t host it)… but we actually don’t host it on Thanksgiving. We host it either on Black Friday or that Saturday. Thanksgiving not-on-Thanksgiving we call it. It’s nice because we can usually have more family members over! Plus, what do you do on Thanksgiving Saturday normally? Shopping is Friday so… Saturday is perfect!
Anyway, we always try to find at least one or two new recipes to add or replace each year. We always have appetizers – you know, because we don’t eat enough that day already.
We found this recipe by Well Plated which is cranberry baked brie bites – they were really quite good but we made a few modifications to the recipe which I thing adds a little bit.
The recipe calls for cutting out 1 1/2″ rounds from cookie cutters – uhhh, turns out I don’t have round cookie cutters. But I do have pie crust stamps!
1. Pull the puff pastry from the freezer and let it thaw.
2. First, prepare the cranberry sauce: Combine the cranberries, orange juice, water, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, until the cranberries break down and thicken. Let cool.
3. Unfold the thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. With a rolling pin, gently roll the pastry so that it is an even 11-inch square. With a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter ( or pie stamps ) cut circles out of the pastry (makes about 48 rounds total, depending on what size of cookie cutter you use).
4. Beat the egg in a small bowl, then lightly brush each pastry. One half of the pastry cut-outs, spoon approximately 1/4 teaspoon cranberry sauce and 1 small piece Brie cheese, rind included. Then sprinkle just a dash of fresh thyme on top.
5. Carefully place the remaining pastry rounds on top of the Brie and cranberry, brushed egg side down. Pinch the ends closed. Prick each pastry with a fork to allow the air to escape. Repeat with second pastry sheet.
6. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Place pastry on the prepared sheet and brush lightly with egg. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes: you can assemble unbaked puff pastry bites and freeze them for later. Do not brush the egg wash on them if you are going to freeze them. Freeze them in an airtight bag. When you want to bake them, pull them out of the freezer and then brush them with the egg wash. Baking temperature is the same – 375, but you will need to bake them a few minutes longer. You can also fully bake the pastry puffs and freeze them then reheat them in the oven.
They are really quite good! I know my pictures aren’t the best (they were taken entirely by iPhone), I encourage you to give a try! They are really good and super easy to make!
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Want to know our #1 Thanksgiving appetizer?? This caramelized onion, apple, and gruyere tart! The second it comes out of the oven our family gobbles it on up… we have to make double batches so people that arrive a few minutes late can have a bite! I’m now sharing the recipe with you all because it is SO GOOD. The secret is out!
1 lb. tart apples, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 oz. Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated
2 Tbs. minced fresh chives
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 package frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 2 Tbs. water
Directions:
In a large fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let the filling cool to room temperature.
Position 1 rack in the upper third and 1 rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the apples and sugar and stir to coat the apples. Cook, stirring, until the apples are just starting to caramelize and have softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the onions and stir in the cheese, chives, thyme and the pepper.
Cut the puff pastry into 2-inch squares and place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing the squares about 1 inch apart. Brush the pastry squares with the egg mixture and place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each square. Season lightly with additional salt and pepper.
Bake at 400F, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the pastry is crisp underneath and golden brown on top, about 25 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the tarts cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or warm. Makes 32 tarts.
Yes, the onions got a bit burned in the oven in the picture above but guess what – there were still no leftovers!
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Have you ever heard of Pain D’Epi (aka Wheat Stalk Bread)? Perhaps not heard of it, but maybe you’ve seen or ate it.
It is called wheat stalk bread because, well, it looks like the top of a wheat stalk. Don’t you agree?
The recipe is adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes. I added my own tips/tricks into the mix. But I feel like the book is a lie… it takes way longer than 5 minutes to make fresh artisan bread. Even more than 5 minutes of prep time. It’s a 4-5 hour process, in reality.
Pain d’Epi Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 packet yeast (7g)
3/4 tbsp salt
455 grams (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
Directions
Add water, yeast, and salt together. Let sit for approximately 5-10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. (don’t use too hot of water, approximately warm bath water is nice. Remember, the yeast is alive!)
Add the flour. Now mix together until is incorporated. It’s handy to have a mixer here. Mine mixed for approximately 10 minutes using the bread hook on my mixer. It’s done mixing when a nice dough ball is formed.
Place a cup of water in the microwave and heat it up. Then, place your bowl (that contains the dough) into the microwave, cover the bowl with a cloth, and close the door. Allow the dough to rise for about 2 hours.
Once done rising, you can either: put in the refridgerator and store for 2 weeks OR continue on.
Place about a dough ball approximately the size of a large orange onto a floured surface. Shape by stretching it into an oval. Then fold the dough into thirds, like you’re folding a letter. The dough should now be about a baguette shape.
Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper that has cornmeal on it. Allow the dough to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
Turn the oven on to 450F. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven when the oven is heating up.
After the dough has rested, take kitchen shears and cut into one end of the dough at about a 45 degree angle towards the bottom of the dough. Then take the dough chunk and lean it to the left. Repeat multiple times, alternating which side you leave tend ought on.
Just prior to placing your dough in the oven, put a baking pan of water below the baking stone. This simulates what a steam oven does… providing a steamy environment for the perfect piece of bread!
Now, slide the dough onto your baking stone (or just put your pan in the oven). Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crust is browned. The dough is done when it has a hollow sound to it.
Cool then serve.
this recipe makes about 3-4 loaves.
Artisan Bread in 5 minutes has a lovely guide on their website on how exactly to shape the bread…
What to serve this with? This is GREAT for dinner rolls or at parties.
Serve with… some butter. Or take some olive oil and balsamic and mix together. Or take some olive oil, italian herbs, and some garlic, mix together, and dip the bread in that.
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After baking madeleines this week, maybe you want to eat something a little bit lighter. This recipe is perfect for snacks and for football snacking! It’s baked zucchini fries! They are pretty tasty and are pretty low in fat and calories!
Baked Zucchini Fries
Ingredients
Zucchini
approximately 1/4 c flour (just enough to cover the zucchini sticks)
1 c panko bread crumbs
1/8 tsp salt
1/4c parmesan cheese
1 tbsp italian seasoning blend
1 egg
Directions
Cut your zucchini into strips about 1/3 to 1/4 inch thick.
Toss the zucchini in bowl with the flour and salt.
Now, in a separate bowl combine the panko bread crumbs, cheese, and italian seasoning.
In another bowl, whisk the egg.
Take a floured zucchini strip and dip into the egg wash, and then into the bread crumb mixture.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place the zucchini strips either directly on the wire rack OR a cooling rack (that is oven safe) and bake. I recommend having a baking pan underneath to catch some drippings. You could also just bake on a baking pan, but one edge will get soggy. Honestly, it still tastes good.
Bake them 14-16 minutes, until golden brown.
Helpful hints: try to cut your strips as uniform as possible to ensure they all bake evenly around the same amount of time.
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Ever had a cheese gougère?? No? Well, you are missing out. They are so delicious.
We made them for Thanksgiving appetizers last year… and they were gone in two seconds.
A Gougère is basically a French cheese puff. How could it not be good?
Gougères!
Gougères: Ingredients:
1 cup water
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
Directions
1. Boil the water and butter. Combine the water, butter, and salt into a 2 to 4 quart saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from heat and add the flour all at once. Stir vigoursly until the mixture comes together and resembles mashed potatoes.
3. Return the pan to medium-low heat and stir for 3-5 minutes to dry out the dough. The dough is ready when it glistens and is thick enough to hold a spoon upright.
4. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat the dough on medium speed until it stops steaming.
5. Continue beating and add the egg in four additions. Wait until each is absorbed before adding the next. The dough should be a creamy batter in the end. Now beat in the cheese.
6. Heat the oven to 450F. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto lined sheet pans. (line with parchment paper or silicone baking mats). Space them at least one inch apart.
7. Bake for 5 minutes then turn the heat down to 350F. Bake for another 20-25 minutes. The gougeres are finished when they are puffed and deep golden brown and dry to the touch. They will feel light and hollow when you pick them up.
8. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm.
piped out and ready to bake!
finished product!
Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
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This is a great recipe for an appetizer this Fall! What’s great about it is that black beans and sweet potatoes are extremely healthy foods. Perfect appetizer for those with high cholesterol, diabetes, dieters, and also vegetarians!
Black Bean Sweet Potato Bites
Ingredients
Sweet potatoes, unpeeled
1 can black beans
1 tsp cumin
salt
optional: dash of chili powder or cayenne pepper
Cotija cheese, crumbled
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the sweet potatoes approximately 1/2 inch thick, and place in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the bottoms are browned.
While the potatoes are baking, simmer the can of black beans over the stove. Add the cumin to the black beans and a little salt. If you like your beans with a kick, add a dash of cayenne or chili powder. Simmer for approx 10-15, until the liquid has boiled off.
Now that the sweet potatoes are done in the oven, add a scoop of black beans on top of the round. Add some crumbed cotija cheese and fresh cilantro.
Tips
If you want your appetizers more bite sized, choose a narrower potato as those are the base.
Instead of cumin and chili powder, you could always add your favorite Mexican spice mix to the beans (like Mrs. Dash’s chipotle mix).
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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’ve been looking for some healthier alternatives to Thanksgiving Dinner. While I LOVE mashed potatoes, I know they are full of carbs and fat. I have been playing around with some cauliflower mashed potato recipes and came up with one that I think is really good AND could fool your guests too!!
Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potato Recipe
I think the secret to this mashed cauliflower recipe is that it actually includes potato with the mashed cauliflower. So many of the recipes that contain only cauliflower don’t quite taste right.
Ingredients:
1 small head cauliflower that is trimmed, cored, and cut into small florets.
1-2 small red or golden potatoes, chopped
1 tbsp fat free sour cream
2 tbsp skim milk
1-2 tbsp light butter
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the cauliflower and potato to the water.
2. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes until vegetables are cooked through.
3. Drain well and move to your food processor. Process until smooth.
4. Return the cauliflower/potato puree to a hot pan on medium high heat. Stirring frequently, you will need to cook off the excess liquid. This takes about 5 minutes or so. Once excess water has evaporated, stir in the sour cream, milk, and butter.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then garnish with green onions, rosemary, or thyme! Enjoy!
My husband wasn’t too keen on this “faux” mashed potato recipe when we were making it. Then he ended up liking it when we were done! The great part it is that it tastes good and you won’t feel guilty with seconds! Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday,Wow us Wednesdays!Foodie Friday
written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
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I was shopping at Trader Joe’s and came across these beautiful multicolored carrots in the produce section. I knew I had to take them home and make something yummy with them.
Autumn Roasted carrots- perfect for Thanksgiving
This recipe is nice and simple. These carrots would work really well as a side dish for Thanksgiving or other meals this Fall.
Ingredients
Carrots, approx 3 per person
1tbsp Honey
Butter
Thyme or Rosemary
Directions
Peel the carrots. Cut the carrots in half, length wise. You can leave the green on them if you want; I chose to cut mine off.
Place a pan over high heat with a little bit of water covering the bottom of the pan.
Add the carrots with a little bit of butter into the pan (the amount of butter depends on your personal tastes. I probably added 1 tbsp for 8 carrots).
Add 1 tbsp of honey to the pan (I sort of drizzled it over the carrots)
Cover the pan and let the carrots simmer until tender.
Cook until water almost gone and the carrots look glazed with the butter and honey.
Sprinkle some thyme or rosemary on top and prepare to serve
Tips
I used the multi-colored carrots because they look prettier. You can make this recipe with the regular orange carrots as well. The different colored carrots each have a slightly different taste.
Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
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With Oktoberfest currently going on, I thought I’d try my hand at German pretzels. Now, the *authentic* German pretzel recipe calls for a dip in a bath of lye. I’m not going to risk my health with a lye bath in order to enjoy pretzels. The much safer alternative is a baking soda bath.
Add yeast to warm water. Let it settle for about 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and salt to the yeast and mix in.
Add the yeast, sugar, and salt mixture to the flour. Mix together. I used the dough hook on my kitchenaid and mixed for about 5 minutes on speed #2. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.
Cut dough into about 5-6 equal parts. Roll out on a clean surface. Don’t need to flour the surface, the dough shouldn’t stick. Roll the dough in a line until it is about 1/2 inch in diameter, and approx. 16 inches in length. Then, make a U shape, twist the ends at the top one time, and fold over.
Place the baking sheet uncovered in the fridge for approx. 1 hour. This is key. This helps build a skin making it have that nice crust.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Bring 2 quarts of water to boil. SLOWLY add in baking soda into the boiling water little bits at a time. *caution* this creates quite a bubbly reaction for a few seconds so stand back and don’t get burned! It will eventually simmer down after a few seconds. Then add more. You have been warned!
Add the pretzels one at a time into the soda bath. Let it sit for about 10-20 seconds and then remove. Place on baking sheet.
Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Move to a cooling rack. Grab some honey mustard, nacho cheese, or a slice of cheese and enjoy!
To enjoy the next day, refrigerate and place in the toaster oven.
hint: I had only rolled out the dough to about 1 inch in diameter and 14-16 inches long and then folded. As you can see in the pictures, they puffed up quite a bit. I suggest making it even thinner, maybe about 1/2 inch. However, they still tasted fantastic!
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I ate at Rick Bayless’ Red O Mexican restaurant and LOVED it. My favorite dish they served there was something called “deconstructed Mexican street corn”. I don’t care what it’s called, it’s absolutely delicious. My husband and I sat there and studied the flavors. We think we came up with a recipe that closely resembles it.
We call it… Mexican style corn with serrano crema.
AKA Mexican corn-off-the-cob
AKA deconstructed Mexican street corn
AKA get-in-my-mouth-now corn. We had a hard time naming this dish! Enough chat, time for the recipe!
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