Peace, Love and French Fries

Football season is upon us!  The Big 12 (10? 9?  How many of us are there left?) starts conference play this weekend, and that means a pretty heavy game against Oklahoma (and IN Norman!) for poor Mizzou.  The season hasn’t exactly started like most of us would have hoped, but we’re still optimistic nonetheless.  Ok, maybe not this weekend.  This weekend I’m just kind of hoping we don’t *completely* choke.  I’ll consider anything other than a swift azz-whooping to be a victory.

Anywho, I participated in a tailgate-themed recipes swap with several other bloggers, and was pretty excited about this pretzels and cheese recipe.  I mean really, who goes to a stadium of any kind and doesn’t get a big giant pretzel with cheese?  I do have to say that this is much more of a tailgate-at-home kind of recipe, it’s not very friendly to take with you to the stadium.  But honestly, being 800+ miles away from my Tigers, most of our tailgating is done at home anyway.  And these little beauties were so worth the effort – soft and pillowy, yet still chewy like we want pretzels to be, salty, and the cheese was just perfect.  I wasn’t sure about the horseradish in it (we aren’t huge horseradish fans), but it adds the perfect bite to the cheese sauce.  I halved the recipe, and it made plenty for 2-3 people, especially if you have other snacks.  I listed the full recipe below, but only use the full recipe if you’re feeding a crowd!

Want to see some of my other favorite tailgating and Superbowl foods?  Check out my Perfect for Tailgating tag! You’ll find my favorite chili lime wings, black bean salsa, caramelized onion dip, buffalo chicken pizza and more!

And while my hopes aren’t too high for my poor Tigers this Saturday, I guess I have to remember that things could be worse.  I could have to walk through life as a kansas fan.  *shudder*  Oh, and the non-capitalization of kansas is intentional.  Because kansas is neither a proper place or a proper noun.  GO TIGERS!!!!

One year ago: Quick and Easy Sorta Stroganoff

Soft Pretzel Bites and Beer Cheese Dip
as seen on Jenna’s Cooking Journey, originally from Allrecipes.com and Sunny Side up in San Diego

for the pretzels:
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees)
4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1.2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water

For the cheese dip:
6 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup good quality beer
1 tbsp horseradish
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

for the pretzels:
In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp white sugar in warm water.  Set aside until mixture becomes foamy and bubbly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, combine flour sugars, and salt and mix on low speed until combined.  Add yeast mixture and butter to the bowl.  Knead dough on medium low for 8 minutes or until dough is smooth.  If dough is too dry, add water 1 tbsp at a time until moistened.

Spray a medium mixing bowl with cooking spray.  Remove dough from mixer and shape into a ball.  Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with kitchen towel.  Set in warm place to rise for 1 hour.  (Your house chilly?  Set the bowl on the back of your stove and turn the front burners on low.)

Towards the end of rising, preheat oven to 450.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In a large bowl, combine 4 cups of hot water (not boiling, just hot) and baking soda.

Punch down the dough and knead with hands for one minute.  Tear off handful of dough and roll into a snake.  Cut into even 1 inch pieces.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Dip pieces in baking soda water and place on baking sheet.  Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.

Bake 7-8 minutes, or until browned.

For the cheese sauce:
In a microwave safe bowl, microwave cream cheese for 30-45 seconds or until very soft.  Add beer, horseradish, and garlic powder.  Microwave again for 30-45 seconds.  Add cheese, stirring until smooth, microwaving again if necessary.

Enjoy!