Preztel Bites with Cheddar Sauce

I made these to eat for a snack before a football game. They were a process, to say the least. They were delicious though.The cheese sauce I was less impressed with, but I'm still going to post it because it seems like a decent base. I got the recipe from here and here.These would be great for a party, because the recipe makes a lot!

Ingredients:

Pretzel Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel or kosher salt

Cheese Sauce Ingredients

2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
8 oz shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

I used regular salt because I forgot to buy larger salt, and it tasted just fine. It didn't look as pretty, but it will still work.

Directions:

Pretzels:

1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.

Foaming yeast

 2. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl and oil it with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an large pot.
5. Put the dough onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Slice or tear each rope into 1-inch pieces.
Make sure to place a lightly damp towel over the pretzel pieces to prevent them from drying out while you roll and cut the other pieces.

I don't have space to oil my counter, so I wrapped plastic wrap around my table and put oil on that.

8 equal parts

Rolling out into ropes

Half of the pretzel pieces. Yup, that's only half.

6. Put a handful of the pretzel pieces into the boiling water and boil them for 30 seconds.

7. Remove the pretzel pieces from the water using a slotted spoon, or a potato masher, which is what I had on hand. Drain them on a paper towel and place them on the baking sheets.

Mashers: Not just for mashing anymore

8. Brush the top of each pretzel with the egg and water mixture and sprinkle with the salt.
9. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 – 12 minutes.

Yummy!

Cheese Sauce:
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.

2. Whisk in the flour and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.
3. Slowly whisk in the milk until no flour lumps are left.  Stir constantly and bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the shredded cheese until all of the cheese has melted. Serve warm.

 

The cheese sauce didn't have a whole lot of flavor, and it definitely didn't reheat well. I don't recommend it. A beer cheese sauce would be excellent with these, though. I plan on trying one in the future.

The pretzels were excellent though, and I will definitely be making those again. I will probably just make them in the regular pretzel fashion though, instead of the bites. It took a long time to boil them all in small groups, and it would have been much easier to just have to do eight pretzels instead of so many bites.

Potato Skins

We ended up with a bag and a half of potatoes when we came back from my parents' house a few weekends ago. They apparently think we starve and like to load us up with food when we visit. I used some for a baked potato soup, but still had a bag left. I asked Chris what he wanted me to make with potatoes, and he immediately responded with potato skins. I've only ever had these maybe once, and now I know why because they take a long time! They aren't a lot of work, it's just a big time commitment to make them. They ended up being really tasty though, and worked perfectly for our dinner while we watched football on our couch. I used these two recipes as my base for how to make them, and then went from there.

Ingredients:

Potatoes 

  Shredded Cheddar Cheese

  Sour Cream

  Bacon Bits

Directions:

1. Wash your potatoes, and then coat them in olive oil.

2. Bake your potatoes. I chose to do mine in the oven at 400° for 50 minutes on a regular sheet pan. 

3. Once the potatoes have cooled, cut them in half lengthwise.

4. Take a spoon and core out the inside of the potato. Brush the inside and outside with another coat of olive oil.

5. Bake the potatoes for 10 minutes at 450°, then flip the potatoes over and bake for another 10 minutes.

6. Place the shredded cheese inside the potatoes and put back in the over just long enough to melt the cheese, about 2 minutes.

7. Cover your potatoes in delicious toppings and enjoy!

These had a delicious crispy crust and the toppings were a good addition. I think some chives are also normally added, but I didn't  have those around my kitchen. I would definitely make these again, even though they took so long. The time is worth it for a yummy perfect potato skin.