Laugen Brotchen (Bretzel Rolls)

DH told me the other day about an amazing bread he had while he was in Germany ( many, many moons ago). Granted, all bread in Germany is amazing -- but he knew a specific bread. He told me it tasted like a pretzel, but was the consistency of a bread roll.

We live in "Pennsylvania Dutch" territory, so my automatic response was "Oh, a pretzel roll." But no -- DH said this was fluffier, thicker than the standard pretzel roll seen in Central Pennsylvania for sandwiches and such. (And he's right -- this definately has a lot more "bread-like" quality to it than the standard pretzel roll)

A few minutes on the internet with my (incredibly broken/picked-up-from-DH) German, I discovered several recipes for Laugen Brotchen -- or Bretzel Rolls.

I chose this recipe arbitrarily -- they were all pretty similar. These rolls are DELICIOUS. If you're more creative than I, you can form them into little pretzel shapes before baking. I just scored the top of mine with an "X" and popped them in the oven. DH tells me the best way to eat these is warm, with lots of REAL butter....but I also think it would be amazing with some ham and cheese tucked in there and warmed. Or any meat and cheese, quite frankly! MMM!

Laugen Brotchen/ Bretzel Rolls/ Pretzel Rolls

(Original Found at Recipezaar)

Makes 12 rolls

1 1/3 cups warm water

2 tablespoons warm milk

2 1/2 teaspoons (approximately 1 small package) active dry yeast

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 cups all-purpose flour

kosher salt or pretzel salt

2 quarts (~ 8 cups) cold water

1/2 cup baking soda

Directions

- In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix 1/3 cup of the warm (105-115 degrees) water with the yeast and let stand until foamy (about 2-3 minutes for me)

- Add the remaining cup of warm water, the warm milk, melted butter, and brown sugar and mix to dissolve the sugar

- Attach your dough hook to your stand mixer, and slowly add the 4 cups of flour until combined. Continue using your dough hook to mix the dough until it forms a nice, firm dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl

- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Roll into a 2-foot long log and cut into 12 even pieces

- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a damp cloth and let sit for 10 minutes (this step didn't say if i should wrap each piece individually, or lay the plastic over all of them, or what. i laid the plastic over all of them, then the damp towel, and it worked fine)

- Pat dough into rolls, or form pretzel knows and arrange on a lightly floured surface, about an inch apart, and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for an additional 30 minutes (again -- i just laid some oiled plastic wrap over the lot of them, and let them do their thing. they were fine)

- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets

- In a large stockpot, bring the cold water to a rolling boil and add the baking soda

- Drop the rolls -- one or two at a time -- into the boiling water and boil for no more than 30 seconds, turning them over once. Carefully remove with tongs, spatula, or slotted spoon and hold above the pot to let drain

- Deposit boiled rolls into the greased baking sheet (6 per sheet) and sprinkle lightly with pretzel or kosher salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls

- Bake the rolls on the upper and middle racks of the oven for 8-10 minutes until brown all over -- if necessary, shift pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, for even baking (I baked mine 1 baking sheet at a time to ensure consistency of color and cooking. I also turned the pan around halfway through. Mine also baked for 9 minutes)

- Let the rolls cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack

- Serve warm, or at room temperature

Notes

- I think these would make amazing sandwiches. I think I'd just split the top, tuck my sandwich ingredients in it like a pocket, and warm them in the oven -- mmm!!!

- The hubby says these aren't quite what he had in mind -- he remembers them being denser, darker, and crustier. Having done a little more reading since I made them, I think this comes from the tendency of German bakers to use rye and wheat flours, rather than enriched, bleached flours. Perhaps next time I will experiment with a more whole grain flour and see where it takes me.

Edit: I've entered this recipe in Joelen's Culinary Adventures blog event -- Oktoberfest!

Chef Bradley BBQ Meatloaf

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to be chosen by Blake, at Blake Makes, to receive a free bottle of Chef Bradley's Lean Mean BBQ Sauce.

I wasn't sure what to make with it -- we don't have a grill, so grilling was out -- so I asked my dear hubby what he wanted me to make with it. His responses? (I should've known...) meatloaf or pulled pork. Well, okay, we'll work with that, then!

I made the meatloaf this week, but only used 1/2 bottle of my BBQ sauce - so perhaps I'll get to make both meatloaf AND pulled pork (I may try beef instead) as well! TWO Chef Bradley recipes!

My cute little loaves, ready for topping and baking

Chef Bradley's website says the Lean Mean BBQ Sauce is primarily a finishing sauce, but, I used it on my meatloaf while cooking as well. It had a nice, sweet flavor from cooking along with the meatloaf. I added more sauce to my piece of meatloaf, to taste the original flavor as well, and it was delicious -- it's got a little bit of zing to it, is a little peppery, but is very tasty -- AND it's healthy. How awesome is that??

Basic Meatloaf

(Makes 1 large loaf, or two small loaves)

1.5 lbs ground meat (I used ground beef and ground sausage for this -- you can use any ground meat)

1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), finely diced

1-8oz. tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1/2-3/4 cup breadcrumbs (however much you need to make it bind)

Directions

- Mix all ingredients together, shape into loaves

- Top with BBQ sauce, ketchup, or whatever you enjoy

- Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until loaves are cooked through.

My finished BBQ meatloaf. Okay, so it isn't the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen, but trust me...it was deeeeeeeeeelicious!

Homemade Hot Dog Chili Sauce

This recipe was one of my grandmother's -- and for some reason, old-fashioned hot dogs in casing, with chili sauce, just sounded FANTASTIC this week!

Sometimes you just need a little comfort food, ya know? I'm an adult -- if I want to eat like a 3 year old for dinner -- so be it!

The original recipe (below) makes 1 gallon. Seeing as I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen tinier than my work cubicle -- making 1 gallon of this stuff and freezing it was NOT a good idea.

I split the recipe in half -- realized it was STILL way too much -- and split it again. And I think that's where the issue arose. The spices just don't split evenly, I think. A pretty common occurance, though, and I'm relatively unpreterbed about it.

My chili sauce had a VERY strong clove flavor. I hate clove. This was bad. But I think with less clove, and more chili powder (maybe a sprinkle of cumin, to replace the nasty clove) it would be DEEELICIOUS. So those are my recc's -- run with it :-)

Below is the original (1 gallon), and then my divided-up recipe.

Hot Dog Chili Sauce
Ma's Recipe!

(Makes 1 gallons)

Sauce freezes easily for use later. Reccommend freezing in single-serving containers

2 lbs. ground beef, cooked, broken up into fine pieces (I use a potato masher and it works wonderfully), and drained of excess fat
1 1/2 cups finely diced onion
1/8 cup salt
1 1/4 oz. chili powder
1/2 -3/4 tbsp ground clove (Use 3/4 if you like clove, 1/2 or less if you don't)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 1/2 oz. paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1-14 oz. ketchup
6 cups of water
1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup water (Mix until flour and water are combined into a paste)

Directions
- Simmer all ingredients above together for 2 hours
- Stir frequently
- Makes about 1 gallon

Smaller Version of Above Recipe
1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked, broken up into fine pieces (I use a potato masher and it works wonderfully), and drained of excess fat
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1/3 tsp. ground clove (Use 3/4 if you like clove, 1/2 or less if you don't)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup water (Mix until flour and water are combined into a paste)

Directions
- Simmer all ingredients above together for 20 minutes
- Stir frequently
- Makes about 4 cups

Reccommendations
- I would leave the clove out entirely, as I hated the flavor of it
- I would increase the chili powder slightly, and replace the clove with cumin, to give it a smokier, chili-er flavor

Blake Makes - Chef Bradley BBQ Sauce

YAY! My BBQ Sauce has arrived!

I entered a contest on Blake Makes several weeks ago, and ended up being one of the lucky winners of a jar of Chef Bradley's Lean Mean BBQ Sauce!

Now -- what to make with this delicious concoction??? Anybody have any ideas for me? I'm totally open to suggestion! Just leave a comment with your ideas :-)

(As long as you keep in mind that I have no grill, nor a grill pan -- I know what you're thinking, how can I live?! haha)

"To Die For" Blueberry Muffins -- Almost

When I saw this recipe on BrownEyedChef's blog, I knew I had to try it. I'm batty for blueberry muffins, and I am continuing my quest to find the perfect one.

This muffin was VERY VERY close to perfect...I think my only real problem with it was the crumble mixture on top -- mine didn't crumble...and it had some issues. Or rather, I had issues with it (I think I just let my butter get too soft before I made the crumble mix)

I think next time I'll just sprinkle with some large-granule sugar, and call it deliciousness. But, in the interest of the perfectionist that I am, I'll continue trying blueberry muffin recipes to find the "perfect" one!

Apologies for the bad image -- I was in a hurry on Sunday, and I knew if I didn't get a picture right out of the oven that DH would have them all eaten before I could try.

Apparently, in addition to walking away from my butter and letting it get warm, I also had uneven muffins. Bah. Who cares, they taste good. :-)

To Die For Blueberry Muffins
(BrownEyedChef's Blog)
(Serves 8 according to BrownEyedChef -- I got 9)

Muffin Ingredients
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumble Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Muffin Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Grease muffin cups or line with baking cups
- Combine 1.5 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder
- Place vegetable oilin a 1-cup measuring cup, add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup (1/3 cup milk)
- Mix the wet mixture into the flour mixture
- Fold in blueberries
- Fill muffin cups right to the top and sprinkle with crumb topping

Crumble Topping Directions
- Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking

- Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly golden brown

What Happened to Jello??

Warning: Jello does NOT photograph well.

Growing up, I remember my grandmother always had several varieties of jello and canned fruit in her pantry (along with a little Dream Whip to make things fancy!) -- so my question is:

What happened to jello??

Jello and fruit used to be a common, light dessert for my family, and my grandma was happy to "whip up a batch" when she knew we were coming over. She had several varieties (admittedly, my favorite was orange jello, mandarin oranges, and dream whip), and it was always a nice, cool treat in the summer.

In honor of the weatherman, who told me our "hot and humid" weather for the summer will be setting in this week, I've brought jello back. This actually isn't one of grandma's jello's, but it's still delicious.

(And perhaps Grandma's recipes -- for jello and otherwise -- will be making an appearance in the coming weeks. I'm feeling nostalgic!)

Strawberry-Cranberry Jello Salad

2 cups boiling water

1 large box cherry jello (Feel free to use sugar free if it floats your boat)

1 can whole or jellied cranberry sauce (I think mine was 14 oz. maybe smaller. whatever standard cranberry sauce is!)

1 20-oz can crushed pineapple (drained)

1 box frozen strawberries (thawed -- do not drain)

Directions

-Dissolve jello in the boiling water, and add cranberry sauce.

- Smash until the cranberry sauce is dissolved into the jello mixture.

- Add strawberries and drained pineapple.

- Stir and refrigerate until solid.

P.S. - If you were really old school -- this jello would make jello molds really well, I think! It's a good, solid jello!