pretzels

I don't think I will ever buy a pretzel in a mall again after making these. They were super easy and very delicious. We are on day 3 now of pretzels and after popping them in the micro for 20 seconds they are still as delcious as they were fresh out of the oven.

The recipe is courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe. You can find it here.

Chewy Soft Pretzels

Makes 8 pretzels

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes (see pictures below).

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. I only bake one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Absolute Best Mexican Cornbread

I am a closet foodie. There I said it. You would'nt know by the frequency of meals I prepare for my family. But when I do I want it to be gourmet . Why waste the calories if it isnt fabulous. otherwise i can just have a diet coke and a candy bar. This recipe is the best cornbread ever. It is cake like and almost like Grandma Rose's Green corn tamales.

1 cup of butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1(15 ounce) can cream corn
1/2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1.preheat oven to 300 degrees lightly grease 9x13 baking dish
2. large bowl beat together butter and sugar. beat in eggs one at a time. blend in cream corn, chiles, monterey jack and cheddar cheese.
3. in a separate bowl, stir together flour , cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. pour batter into prepared pan.
4. bake in oven 1 hour. until toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

Then glaze with Honey butter . (melt 1/4 cup of butter and 1cup of honey in microwave)
Delish