Ham and Cheddar Pretzel Bites

I’ve loved Top Chef since the beginning and while I don’t have cable anymore, I watch it whenever I get the chance on other people’s televisions. It’s been quite a few seasons so at this point I’m used to the contestants being relatively unknown, even if they’re listed as chef in their own restaurant. So imagine my surprise when flipping through back issues of Gourmet magazine I turn a page and there’s Edward Lee in an issue from 2009.



Let’s just put this out there now, I really like Edward Lee. His cooking is always interesting and well-executed and he avoids the unnecessary drama that seems to invade the show more and more each year. (Side note: did anyone else think the episode when they made the contestants judge each other was just an attempt to get more drama into this season which had until that point been mostly drama free? Ugh.) Edward is one of my favorites to win this year so I was really excited to see a whole spread on him and his restaurant, 610 Magnolia, in Kentucky. The article included several recipes for his Southern-meets-Korean food but it was the recipe for ham and cheddar pretzel bites that really caught my eye.



I was excited about the challenge of making pretzels, but I was blown away by the results.
This is seriously one of the best foods I have ever made and it will definitely join my list of foods that are great for a potluck. Often when I make something snack-like, we eat them for a day or two and then everyone else loses interest while I slowly finish them over the next few days. Not so with these pretzels – 4 dozen bites gone within 3 days and the next day my boyfriend checked the cookie jar and sadly noted that the pretzels were still gone.



These can easily be made vegetarian by taking out the ham and increasing the amount of cheese. The original recipe called served these with a homemade jalapeno honey mustard but I opted to instead add some diced serrano pepper to the filling and eat them with some honey mustard we already had. They are just as delicious with or without the mustard. They’re really best the day you make them because the salt starts to soften after about 24 hours. You can fix this by either making a half batch (but then there are fewer bites, why would you do that?) or by baking the whole batch and then brushing them with melted butter and topping them with salt when you want to eat them. Keep in mind that if you use oil instead of butter the salt won’t stick as well; since butter is solid at room temperature it will help the salt stay in place, unlike oil which will do little to stop the salt from sliding off.



I’m hoping to see Edward Lee or Paul Qui take the title this year. Who are you rooting for on Top Chef Texas?

Ham and Cheddar Pretzel Bites
Adapted from Gourmet, October 2009

Makes 4 dozen bites

1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 2 tbs packed light brown sugar, divided
¼ cup warm water (85-100F)
1 cup warm buttermilk (85-100F)
2 ½ - 3 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup finely chopped country ham
1/3 cup finely chopped sharp cheddar
1-2 serrano peppers, finely diced. Remove or leave ribs and seeds depending on your heat preference

6 cups water
4 tsp baking soda
2 tbs butter, melted
2 tbs coarse salt

Stir the yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar, and warm water together in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes – if your yeast doesn’t foam within 10 minutes it’s dead. Throw it out and start again with new yeast. In a separate bowl, mix the warm buttermilk and remaining 2 tbs brown sugar until dissolved.

Add 2 ½ cups flour and buttermilk mixture to yeast mixture and stir with stand mixer paddle attachment (on medium speed) or wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Add more flour if necessary, the dough should be soft and tacky but it should not stick to your hands when you press it lightly. Switch to a dough hook and knead on low for about a minute or turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead with your hands for 1-2 minutes until a smooth ball forms. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean dishtowel. Let it rise at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400F with racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Turn out the risen dough onto a floured surface and divide into 4 equal parts. Take one part and gently roll it into a log about 12 inches long. Then gently roll it out with a rolling pin to create a 12 by 4 inch rectangle. Press one-quarter of the ham, cheese, and diced peppers in the bottom third of the rectangle, leaving a half inch border at the bottom edge. Stretch the bottom edge of the dough over the filling and press to seal it. Then roll up the dough as tightly as possible to form a rope with the filling inside. Cut the rope into twelve even pieces and lightly pinch the cut edges to partially seal them. Put the cut pieces on a baking sheet and repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and add the baking soda. Cook the pretzel bites in batches in the simmering water, turning them once, until they are slightly puffed up, about 20 seconds. Transfer them with a slotted spoon baking to the baking sheets. * Keep a close eye on them, they puff up quickly. *

Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the pans to ensure even browning, then bake for another 7 minutes or until the bites are puffed and golden brown. Brush warm pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Eat warm or at room temperature, with or without mustard.

Hummus

I’ve always been a big snacker. Maybe it’s because I’m lazy (ok, of course it’s because I’m lazy) but given the option I will make myself a series of snacks throughout the day rather than making a big meal. This is completely different from how I deal with feeding other people, but when it’s just me, more often than not I’m eating a snack.

Hummus is one of my favorite things to snack on. Hummus and pita bread, hummus and veggies sticks, hummus and….hummus. I’m not too picky about things like accompaniments. As far as snacks go, hummus is pretty inexpensive. A big tub from Trader Joes will only set you back a few bucks or so. But hummus is one of those things that is dirt cheap to make: I can make almost two pints of hummus for somewhere in the vicinity of a dollar. The only problem was my homemade hummus was never as good as the stuff I bought in the store.



I was pretty happy with my substandard-hummus life until last May when I went to Israel to visit my boyfriend’s brother and sister-in-law. Hummus in Israel: (Or really any country influenced by the Arabic speaking world) it’s a whole different food. And when I got back I found I was no longer happy with my sad attempts at hummus. It always came out too gritty. At one point I heard that maybe peeling the chickpeas would help the texture so I tried that. Friends, let me give you a tip: peeling chickpeas is much more work than it’s worth and it won’t really help the texture of your hummus; the store-bought stuff will still be better. I pretty much gave up on homemade hummus and instead would reminisce about silky, creamy hummus every time I bought a commercially-made tub of it. But when I found a recipe for hummus in my new cookbook, Plenty (by Yottam Ottolenghi, an Israeli, and perhaps my newest food crush) I thought I would make one more effort at homemade hummus.



His recipe calls for soaking the chickpeas in water with some baking soda and then cooking them in water with even more baking soda. This makes a lot of sense since baking soda is alkaline and thus will act as a softener in the presence of heat. (Just like laundry detergent which is also alkaline. But don’t put laundry detergent in your hummus. Or any cooking). The effect was amazing; creamy and smooth hummus with just a whir of the immersion blender. And no peeling! The only problem with baking soda is that it can leave an unpleasant soapy or metallic taste if it’s not neutralized with acid. This recipe calls for lemon juice so don’t skimp on it or you may find a harsh chemical taste in your hummus. It you don’t want lemon you can substitute any other citrus or just plain vinegar. Either way, this is the perfect spreadable hummus. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some snacking to do.



Hummus
Lightly adapted from Plenty by Yottam Ottolenghi

1 cup dried chickpeas
½ tbs plus 2 tbs baking soda, divided
1/3 cup tahini
Juice of half a lemon (about 3-4 tsp)
2 tsp salt
Reserved chickpea cooking liquid

Optional flavorings:
Garlic, roasted or raw – when I use it raw I keep it to 2 cloves or less so it won’t overpower the flavor
Toasted and ground cumin
Roasted red pepper
Sun dried tomato

Place the chickpeas in enough water to cover them by about 2 inches and add ½ tbs of baking soda. Soak, covered, overnight or better yet, soak them first thing in the morning so they’re ready when you get home from work.

Rinse chickpeas and place them in a pot with about a quart of water and bring to a boil. When the water boils, add the remaining 2 tbs of baking soda, reduce to a simmer and cook until the chickpeas are soft and their skins are falling off, 1-2 hours. (This only took me 45 minutes, your mileage may vary). Drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid. Place the chickpeas, tahini, salt, lemon juice, and any flavorings you wish to add in a food processor or a bowl big enough for your immersion blender and mix for about a minute until everything is smooth. Slowly add cooking liquid until the hummus reaches your desired consistency (I like mine to be fairly soft so that it’s easy to dip into so I usually add between a half and three-quarters cup of liquid). Keep in mind that the warm hummus will be much softer than the finished product when it cools. Taste for seasoning. Eat warm or at room temperature, preferably with pita bread and hot sauce.