Beers and Soft Pretzels

I had a great weekend with my family. My sister Laura was in town from Virginia, my brother Jim was home (which still seems like a novelty since he just moved home from New Mexico in August) and we got to spend time with our parents as well. I did make one request of the weekend...that as a family we make soft pretzels. Growing up we often made soft pretzels at my mom's house and I have very fond memories of all of the fun shapes we'd make, big messes in the kitchen, and the delicious satisfaction with a job well done when they were finished cooking. 

Here's a palm tree I made this weekend:

Friday night I picked Laura up from her conference in Boston, then we got Jim from the subway station, and headed home to Concord. My mom prepared lots of great dishes so we could enjoy tapas. Here's my plate (before going back for seconds):

That's apple slices, baked brie with cherries, spanicopita (spinach pie in a flaky crust), grilled kielbasa, pita crackers, and olives marinated in olive oil, garlic and lemon. So good!

Jim had bought a nice selection of beers (some new ones to try and some old favorites). We decided the best method of sampling would be to split the beers so we could try more. We started with a new Sam Adams  - Latitude 48 IPA. We agreed that this was a very nice IPA, definitely a do-again.

Next we moved on to Hop Head, another beer I'd never had before. This is made by the Green Flash Brewing Co. in San Diego, CA. This is a cross between a red ale and an IPA, and very tasty!

The last beer I had (I think Jim kept going) was an old favorite - La Fin Du Monde. Its made by Unibroue, a brewery in Quebec. Unibroue is one of my favorites (if not absolute favorite) beer makers, and their line of beers is quite extensive. I love every beer of theirs I've tried (a couple favorites besides La Fin Du Monde are Ephemere Apple, Maudite, and Don de Dieu). If you have never tried Unibroue, I very highly recommend that you try it now!

My mom made a delicious pumpkin pie...totally from scratch! She used 2 sugar pumpkins, a sweet potato, some brandy, and a whole lot of other goodness to make an amazing pie. It was incredible!

After lots of tapas, pie, cookies, and beers, we were all too tired to make the soft pretzels. We decided to wait until Saturday afternoon when we'd have more energy and more of an appetite. Jim's girlfriend Kristi joined us, too.

We doubled the recipe to be sure that there would be plenty to go around and lots of leftovers, too. Here I am kneading the dough:

After kneading we all dug in and started making our pretzels (after a good hand scrubbing, of course!). 

Here are a couple trays of pretzels before going into the oven:

And after cooking:

Some highlights:

My palm tree:

Snakes (one made by Laura, one made by my mom):

Skull and Bones (made by Kristi):

Everyone got pretty creative with different shapes and sizes. We usually start off spending a lot of time making them look great, and about halfway through we switch over and make sticks and dots that aren't as nice looking (that way you don't feel guilty eating them!).

My mom has had this recipe since we were very young children, and we've been using it ever since. Its easy and fun for kids of any age (yes, I still consider myself a kid).

Ingredients:

• 1 package yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix yeast, water, sugar, and salt. Stir in flour. Knead the dough.
3. Shape the pretzels and place on cookie sheets (sheets should either be covered in parchment paper or greased).
4. Brush pretzels with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pretzels).

The nice thing about these pretzels (besides being delicious and easy) is that they are pretty versatile. You can top with cinnamon and sugar, or roll the dough with other spices (like garlic and rosemary, or Parmesan and pepper). I like the standard version best, probably because I associate it with my childhood, but there's lots of room for experimenting.

Do you have any favorite recipes or dishes that make you think of your childhood?

Surprise! Pies! (Take 2)

Last week Pat surprised me with 2 pumpkin pies and some beautiful flowers. So now it was my turn to surprise him! I figured I'd stay with the pie theme, which works out because chocolate cream pie is his favorite dessert, and he loves chicken pot pie. That being said, I certainly had my work cut out for me. In the end, it was all worth it!

Chicken Pot Pie

I'll start by saying that I have one memory of chicken pot pie as a child, and it was not a fond memory. I didn't like the consistency, the way it smelled, the oozy liquid inside. I figured that by making this I'd find out if I still don't like chicken pot pie, and even if I don't, at least Pat will get to have one of his favorite meals! Just a warning if you're going to make it...start to finish this ended up taking me about 3 hours (but maybe I'm slow? Don't answer that.).

My ingredients:

First I needed to poach the chicken. I put the chicken (cut into 8 pieces), carrots, celery, onion, parsley, chicken broth, water, salt and pepper in a large pot.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any foam and discard.

Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken has just cooked through, about 25 minutes. While the chicken was cooking, I prepared all of the other ingredients for the pot pie.

Chopped Carrots and Celery:

Chopped Parsley and Tarragon:

Minced Garlic and Sliced Shallots:

Flour in a bowl:

When the chicken is done, transfer to a plate and let cool slightly. Pour stock through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids.

Set aside 1 1/2 cups stock for pot pie, save the rest for another use. Remove skin from chicken and discard. Take meat off bones and tear into bite size pieces.

Now for the pot pie making...

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, until shallots are translucent.

Stir in 1 cup stock to the shallots and garlic. Whisk remaining 1/2 cup stock into the flour in a small bowl.

Whisk flour mixture into pot with stock, shallots and garlic. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.

Add carrots and celery. Bring to a boil.

Add chicken. Return to a boil.

Remove from heat. Stir in chopped parsley and tarragon.

Let cool (I just stuck in fridge for a few minutes) and stir in peas.

Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish.

Brush phyllo dough with melted butter and sprinkle with parsley leaves. Repeat with remaining dough, butter and parsley, but do not sprinkle parsley on the final layer.

Drape crust over cooled filling; tuck in edges. Cut 4 slits in the crust for vents. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Yum!! The phyllo dough was a nice change from typical crusts; it was very light and flaky. I decided that I do like chicken pot pie - all of the fresh vegetables are great with the chicken and flaky crust. Next time I think I'd double the amount of peas, cut the carrots into smaller pieces, and also use more flour/stock mixture (maybe double what the recipe calls for) so that there's more of a gravy consistency (that's what Pat loves).

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with my first chicken pot pie cooking experience! It is time consuming, but its a nice meal for cold fall nights, and would be fun to make with a friend while enjoying some wine!

Here's the recipe (I used Martha Stewart's Lighter Chicken Pot Pie recipe):

Poached Chicken:

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 4-inch pieces
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 4-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns (I used fresh ground pepper instead)
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt (I used sea salt)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a large stockpot. Add remaining ingredients and enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any foam; discard. Reduce heat to low; simmer until chicken has just cooked through, about 25 minutes.
2. Transfer chicken to a plate, and let cool slightly. Pour stock through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Set aside 1 1/2 cups stock for pot pie; reserve remaining stick for another use. Remove skin from chicken; discard. Remove meat from bones and tear into bite-size pieces. (You should have about 4 cups). If not using right away, this can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups reserved stock from the poached chicken
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 3 medium celery stalks, cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch thick slices
• Poached Chicken
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus about 1/2 cup leaves for crust and sprigs for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/2 cup slightly thawed frozen peas (I used 1 full cup and would use even more in the future)
• 6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen

Directions:

2. Add carrots and celery. Bring to a boil. Stir in chicken. Return to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped parsley and tarragon. Let cool. Stir in peas. Transfer to a 2-quart (8 1/2-by-12-inch) baking dish.
3. Brush 1 sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Sprinkle with parsley leaves. Repeat with remaining phyllo, parsley, and butter; do not sprinkle parsley on final layer. (Keep unbuttered phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel). Drape crust over cooled filling; tuck in edges. Cut four 4-inch slits in crust for vents. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
4. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and re-cut vents. Serve immediately in shallow bowls.

For the chocolate cream pie I totally cheated. I found an amazing recipe online for a very involved pie (total time looked like about 8 hours!!) but didn't have time to make that since the chicken pot pie also took a long time. So instead I used pudding and a pre-made cookie crust.

I made Chocolate JELL-O pudding, poured it into the crust and let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours.

Then top with cool whip and enjoy!

Even though I cheated, this still tastes so good! The chocolate crust with chocolate pudding is great, and you can't go wrong with cool whip on top! I used skim milk in the pudding and light cool whip, so this ends up being much better for you than the homemade chocolate cream pie I was going to make (which called for NINE egg yolks, 16 tablespoons butter, 2 cups heavy cream, and 3 1/2 cups half and half...hello heart attack!).

Time to get PIE-EYED!