The Boy Cooks!

We've entered the summer season which means I cook very little. I'm exhausted from camp, it's hot, and we're at the shore almost every weekend. I'll make a big batch of something simple, like veggie pasta, leave it in the fridge and announce it's time to fend for yourself!

Sauteed Summer Veggie Pasta

FEND FOR YOURSELF!!!

Luckily Mr. Lawyer did not have to work last Friday so I asked him to surprise me with dinner. While I was off wrangling small children Mr. Lawyer was slaving away in the kitchen to make one heck of a delicious dinner. When I was presented with a divine looking fish fillet I was a little worried. Mr. Lawyer had gone out fishing that morning and I was worried he was trying to poison me with a fish from the Wissahickon Creek. He assured me the fish was purchased from Whole Foods. The original recipe called for walleye which he swapped out for tilapia. The crunch of the pretzels combined with the spiciness of the mustard was perfect. It's definitely a keeper recipe. The Lemonade Butter for the corn was a bit of a let down so feel free to skip it in favor of the traditional butter/salt/pepper.

Pretzel-Crusted Walleye with "Lemonade Butter" Sweet Corn

(From his Field & Stream Magazine)

Ingredients:
4 walleye fillets, about 6 oz. each (He used tilapia)
1/2 stick butter
Zest of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
Scant teaspoon sugar
About 2 cups broken pretzels
1⁄2 cup spicy brown mustard
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
4 ears sweet corn
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Make the lemonade butter: Let the butter sit at room temperature until it’s soft. Transfer to a small bowl and add the lemon zest, juice, and sugar, as well as salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until combined. Transfer the butter to a length of plastic wrap and form it into a cylinder, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Pulse the pretzels in a food processor until they’re the consistency of breadcrumbs. They might be uneven, but that’s O.K.; bigger shards will add crunch. Transfer the pretzels to a plate and salt and pepper generously, stirring with a fork.
3. Set the fillets on another plate and brush both sides of the fish with the mustard. Place the fillets, one at a time, in the pretzel crumbs, pressing down lightly to help the crumbs adhere. Flip to coat the other side, then transfer to a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. In the meantime, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, use a spatula to carefully transfer the walleye fillets to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until done.
5. While the fish is cooking, add the corn to the boiling water. Boil for about 4 minutes, or slightly longer if the corn is less than perfectly fresh.
6. To serve, place the fish beside the hot corn on a plate. Top each ear of corn with a chunk of the lemonade butter and serve immediately. Serves 4

Creole Hot Pretzels

Two things I'm currently obsessed with: hot pretzels (okay not currently on that one, always obsessed) and creole seasoning. I made up a batch of homemade pretzels because I'm addicted to carbs and did half of them garlic and the other half with creole seasoning. It was good but not as good as the creole seasoned garlic bread. I think it's because the seasoning is actually toasted in the oven for the bread but with the pretzels you sprinkle it on after it comes out of the oven. And yes, that is some delicious jalapeno cheese sauce in the background. Dinner of champions maybe, but not the dinner of fitting into your wedding dress. Damn.

My motto of the month: put creole seasoning on everything!!

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce!

You should never chase your dayquil with a cup of coffee. You might do something insane like bake a whole batch of delicious pretzels and attempt to eat them all with no warning. By then you've used up all your reserve energy in this spurt of feeling better and find yourself dying back on the couch. It was certainly delicious. My pretzel recipe is still amazing, you can find it HERE! The jalapeno cheese sauce was a new amazing addition. I highly recommend it.

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

(Pinterest find! adapted from smells like home)

Ingredients:
Jarred jalapenos (the equivalent of 1 jalapeno)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
4 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the chopped jalapeños to coat with the butter. Whisk in the flour, coating the peppers, and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.

2. Slowly whisk in the milk. Stirring constantly, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the shredded cheese until all of the cheese has melted. Serve warm.

Hot Pretzels!

Mr. Lawyer and I had a hot Friday night date night at home filled with orange bitters, watching the Avengers, and making hot pretzels. Confession: I have not met a hot pretzel I didn't like but these were a pretty spot on replica of Auntie Anne's. They were a little less greasy (a good thing!) and delicious. For example, the boy ate an ENTIRE tray before I could get the second tray out of the oven. We made original, garlic, and cinnamon sugar. The winners were the garlic. I would recommend sprinkling a little garlic powder on them after you brush on the butter. It was a fun recipe to make together, we got flour every where and had some good laughs! Plus it was a great movie snack.

Like laughing at our ridiculous pretzel shapes. I would recommend making pretzel sticks, they are easier and bake more evenly.

 We switched over to sticks pretty quick.

Perfect Hot Pretzels!

(Pinterest find! from Yammie's Noshery adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons (2 packets) active dry yeast
6 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons fine salt
1/3 cup baking soda
3 cups warm water
Coarse salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Garlic powder

Mustard/Cheese Sauce/Preferred Sipping Sauce
Directions:
1. Warm up the milk in the microwave or on the stove for just about one and a half minutes. It should be about 110º. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 3 minutes. Add the butter and sugar. Add the flour about 1 cup at a time and the add the fine salt. Kneed for about 10 minutes with a stand mixer, or by hand. 

2. Put it in a greased bowl and cover with greased cling wrap. Let rise for 1 hour in a moist, warm place until doubled in size. 

3. Preheat the oven to 450º. Punch down dough and divide into 12 balls and roll them all out as thin as you can. Combine the warm water and baking soda in a wide bowl. Form the dough into pretzel shapes or pretzel sticks, then dip in the baking soda water. Place on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. 

4. Bake for about 7-11 minutes or until browned. Brush each with the melted butter while hot, sprinkle on garlic powder if desired. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Party Time!

Woo! We had a great group of people over for a great night of games and food! Unfortunately the Syracuse game was not so great. Ah well. We had quite the spread, I did not get a shot of the whole table once everyone brought their yummy food items (and there was a ton!) but I did get a shot of everything Sandy and I whipped up. More recipes from this night to follow shortly!

Putting Sandy to work in the kitchen as punishment for leaving the country for four years.

This was the second time I made these pretzels. I like them because they are easy and they don't have a ton of sugar or butter like some recipes do. However, I'm sure any pretzel would be much improved if you dunked it in a butter bath. I really like making the pretzel bites with cheese in them. I've made them with cheddar and asiago, both are delicious but you need to watch the cheddar because it will ooze out pretty quickly. They disappeared pretty quick with a couple of requests for the recipe.

Homemade Hot Pretzels!

(From the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 1/4 cups flour

Cheese, optional

Egg white, for egg wash

Sea salt

For baking soda bath:

1/3 cup baking soda

3 cups warm water

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast in warm water. Let sit 5 minutes until frothy.

2. Add milk, brown sugar, butter, salt and flour to yeast mixture. Knead 10 minutes until dough is tacky.

3. Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

4. Make your pretzels! Traditional pretzel shapes, pretzel sticks or cheesy pretzel bites! To make the pretzel bites take a small ball of dough and press a small block of cheese into it. Cover it completely and seal it up well so the cheese won't ooze out.

5. Put pretzels on greased baking sheet and let sit 15 minutes.

6. Mix baking soda with three cups warm water, dip pretzels in water for no more than 5 seconds and place on the baking sheet.

7. Brush pretzels with egg wash and sprinkle on sea salt.
8. Bake at 400 for about 12-15 minutes.

Trying different shapes the first time around.