Joyeux Kitchen: Bre's Soft Pretzels

I've tried, on Doug's request, to make soft pretzels in the past, but the result was always dense, tough, sort of crumbly, nothing like Auntie Anne's yummy mall treats.  And then a friend from Kansas sent me this recipe so I had to give it a try.  YUM.  They're super-soft and chewy and easy to make.

You'll need:

• 4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt (for topping)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in the warm water (yeast and sugar in the bowl first, pour water in).  Let stand until creamy, 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, mix the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt.  Make a well in the center, add the oil and yeast mixture.  Mix and form into a dough using the paddle attachment of your mixer.  If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water (**I actually had to add 7 tbsp of water so I think it really depends on your flour and elevation).  Switch to the bread hook attachment of your mixer.  Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes.  Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour. 

Preheat oven to 450 (**mine bake better at 425, know your oven).  In a large bowl dissolve baking soda in hot water.  When dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly floured surface **or parchment paper to save yourself the mess** and divide into 12 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a thin rope and twist into a pretzel shape (it took me five minutes and a trip to the pantry to get a crunchy pretzel example to figure out the twist--I felt like an idiot).  Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and placed on a greased baking sheet (or, again, parchment paper on a baking sheet and save the mess).  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.  Bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes, or until browned. 

They're great just like that but here are some other ideas for toppings if you're feeling creative: cinnamon and sugar, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, shredded sweetened coconut, red pepper flakes and jarred jalapenos with shredded pepper jack cheese, or go Greek with sun dried tomato and feta. 

Thanks for the recipe tip Bre! 

Smashing Pumpkins (Is Halloween over yet?)

You know, smashing, as in, "extraordinarily impressive"? :)  And also, I hope no one considers smashing these tonight.  I think I'd be more upset than the kiddos.

Before the carving!  What a gorgeous day.

The girls have been talking for a month about which face they'd like on their pumpkin (Haley even went so far today as to tell me she really needs it to have eyelids as well as eyebrows). We visited an orchard, a pumpkin patch, gone out twice already in our costumes, baked three kinds of pumpkin dessert... I've been burning my pumpkin spice candle since the end of August. And I have certainly consumed more than my fair share of pumpkin spice lattes. We've watched and re-watched Halloween cartoons and colored reams of spooky coloring sheets. This brings me to the point of today's post: Does it seem like Halloween has really lasted a long time this year? Could this phenomenon be weather related? We didn't have much of a summer--maybe we hit the fast forward button to Halloween just to have something to get excited about.

The girls aren't tired of it yet, they're thrilled any time I mention trick-or-treating. So the festivities continue!

After! Meet the Donovan Pumpkin Family.



The uber-cute book we have read no less than 37 times.  It's loooong.

Emeril's Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Okay, I know I said you'd never see another Emeril recipe from me, but this one isn't fussy at all. Although he does use the word 'essence' to describe the seasoning he uses in his cooking, and I think it's ridiculous--he says it all the time, it's his thing. Like, "BAM! ESSENCE!"  It's not magic--it's mostly paprika, buddy.  But the pumpkin seeds are top notch.

Emeril's "Essence".  Are you ooooo-ing and ahhhh-ing?



Get in there girls!  Up to our elbows in pumpkin smithereens.

Holly, taking a peek.  She was very hesitant to reach in and grab the guts.

We'll go ahead and call this "The Carter Method"

Get in there, boys!

Mickey, Green Triangle Jack, Vampire, Fire Hydrant!



A [five favorites] list from Parenting Magazine -- Reasons Fall Is Fabulous!

-Fall clothes come in the same colors as your kids' food stains: chocolate brown, fruit-punch red, and mac-and-cheese orange!

-It gets dark earlier and is, therefore, easier to put the kids to bed.

-Trick-or-treating, that blessed evening when sleep-deprived moms who look like zombies simply blend in with the crowd.

-We're suckers for the sight of little kids in footy pajamas.

-Hot cider. Hot chocolate. Hot toddy!

Joyeux Kitchen: Fried Green Tomatoes

"I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends."--Ninny Threadgoode (Fried Green Tomatoes)

Okay, so the quote isn't relevent to this post in any way, but it's a great movie.  So you could try some of these recipes and watch the movie at the same time! 

It was a bad year for tomatoes, no doubt about it.  My plants were covered with fruit but only three of them ever ripened.  So what next?  No sense crying over green tomatoes, I had to make a plan.  I found a great website with tons of ideas and uses for them (they're super-firm, with a very mild, citrusy flavor).  Had to try them fried, of course.  I used recipe #1 with the buttermilk lime dressing--delicious, but the dredge needed more salt and they'd be better dipped in sour cream ranch.  Also tried recipe #10, the green tomato salsa--yummy, mild, very fresh tasting and would be great on nachos.  For spice-lovers, I'd add some chopped up jalapeno.

http://tipnut.com/green-tomato-recipes/

"I'm controlling. Controlist isn't a word."

Coach Beiste: You're all coffee and no omelet.
Sue: That doesn't make any sense.

A little Glee-cap of tonight's season premiere: 
What's with the crack about folks not liking Mr. Shu rapping?  I thoroughly enjoy it--you should see me groove to Gold Digger or Bust A Move while I'm running.  New tough gal Coach Beiste makes her debut, stealing the spotlight and some much needed funding from other school programs, much to the chagrin of Shu and Sue, who briefly join forces to take her down.  Finn and Rachel are happy, but we're sure that won't last long.  WHERE'S EMMA??  Puck got a vasectomy, Quinn's back on the Cheerios, Santana got a boob job, Tina and Mike are dating, and tryouts prove to be a non-event.  The two song highlights of the evening for me were "Billionare" and "Empire State of Mind"... adding them to the Shuffle as we speak.  Full (and amusing) recap here.

Lindsay, Doug and I celebrated the return of our favorite show choir in style, with Slurpees from the 7-11 down the hill, soft pretzels with salsa cheese dip (recipe next week!) and a giant tray of Puppy Chow.  Crispix, peanut butter, chocolate, powdered sugar... it's win-win-win-win situation.

Puppy Chow
You'll need:

• 6 cups Crispix cereal
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter
• 12 oz. milk chocolate chips
• 2 cups powdered sugar

This'll bring out the "Beiste" in anyone!  Melt butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips together on low on the stove or in the microwave.  Watch carefully if you do it on the stove--the recipe won't work if it gets scorched.  Stir in the cereal GENTLY.  Put powdered sugar in a large paper grocery sack; pour the cereal mixture in and shake until well coated.  Spread out and cool on wax paper before storing (ha ha... like any of this will make it to storage!).  Get your "juicy, vine-ripened chest fruit" out there and start cookin'. :)