Three words: Cards Against Humanity. If you don’t know about it, you should probably go learn about it. It’s like an adult version of apples to apples? I’ve never played apples to apples, but that’s what I hear it compared to. So when I say “adult” I clearly mean the most awesome sophomoric humour imaginable, intertwined with current trends & events & people. An anything goes, unending laughs kinda time. You know, the best kinda time. I played it for the first time at a potluck last week, & immediately ordered the game & expansions packs that evening. It’s a great ice breaker too, when it’s a mix of people that don’t all know each other. Which is what happened at this potluck, & totally reaffirmed my belief that good food & laughs bring everyone together.
When we started planning this potluck, we wanted to theme the food & we did with the best one possible: all appetizers! This put me at a very difficult decision: what on earth would I bring? The possibilities were never ending & I wanted to bring everything. Which.. . I sorta did, completely going overboard. I brought my favorite bean dip, which I feel must always be a given everywhere I go because everyone should taste this deliciousness. & then I wanted to bring a sweet, so I brought the strawberries & (banana) cream, because we all know how obsessed I am with this sauce/dip right now. But of course this was the perfect excuse to venture into new territory & I wasn’t going to lose out on that opportunity. Which brings me to pretzels. & cheese.
Did I mention the cheese? The delicious oooey gooey cheese that’s perfect to dunk these soft chewy pretzels (& crunchy tart apples) in? It’s beer based which practically assumes it’s deliciousness. But I don’t want you to lose sight of these pretzels. These babies turned out so perfectly, everything a pretzel should be.
I don’t want to brag or anything, but there weren’t any of these darling little things left over.
What You Need:
For the Pretzels (from Two Peas & Their Pod):
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil
- 3 quarts water
- 3/4 cup baking soda
- 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
- Coarse sea salt
For the Cheese Fondue:
- 8 ounces of beer (I used a local unfiltered wheat)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dry mustard powder
- A little bit of liquid smoke (optional)
- 4 tablespoon flour
- 16 ounces grated/shredded cheese (I used two bags of Kraft triple cheddar, feel free to experiment with types of cheese, I’m thinking a pepper jack next time)
What You Do:
For the Pretzels (from Two Peas & Their Pod):
- Combine the warm water water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
- Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil.
- Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Bring the rest of the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a long rope.
- Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites.
- Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches, for about thirty seconds.
- Remove with a large slotted spoon.
- Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, make sure they are not touching.
- Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt.
- Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.
For the Cheese Fondue:
- On a double boiler, combine beer, worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, & garlic.
- Mix together shredded cheese with flour until well coated. The flour helps to thicken it up.
- When the beer mixture is warm, begin adding the cheese in. Whisk very well.
- Once it’s incorporated, add in more cheese.
- Continue doing this until all the cheese is combined, & the mixture is smooth.
- Serve immediately
