Hot Pretzels

This is likely an annual tradition now that I’ve made these pretzels two years in a row. I’m pretty sure that the inspiration came from an issue of Martha Stewart’s Living that I looked through at my parents’ home a year ago. Here’s the recipe. If you give these a shot, here are a few tips.

Don’t let the dough rise too much

I decided to shape the dough and let it warm up a little while I got the bath assembled and boiling. It’s a mistake because the pretzel hold their shape less and less as the dough rises. If you want cool shapes, make them fast.

Don’t add too much salt to the toppings

It’s not for health reasons or anything, I just don’t add salt to things that often. The dough itself is salty and if you had a lot of salt to the top it can be a bit much. Again, just a personal preference.

Caraway seeds, all day long

For real, caraway seeds are a perfect topping for these. Add some Bertman Ballpark Mustard (the only “stadium mustard”) to them and you’ll lose your mind.

Mujaddarah / Mujadara

Simplicity. This is the thing that makes me love this dish. Lentils, rice, onions and a few spices. Done. I usually go with the recipe from Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone“, but that recipe makes an absolute ton of mujaddarah, so today I went with something else.

Here’s the recipe I decided to try. I liked that it included the deeply carmelized onions with the lentils and rice as they cooked. That being said, I think the amount of water needed during the final step to cook the lentils and rice was low because the lentils and rice were a bit too crunchy (al dente) for my taste.