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It has been awhile since I last made soft pretzels, and I thought I would entertain my kids with the thought of fresh, homemade soft pretzels, not only that, but to create a beer and cheddar cheese sauce that my wife and I love.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 package of active dry yeast
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Cooking Spray
• 12 cups water
• 2/3 cups baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten
• Kosher salt

Begin by adding 1 1/2 cups of the water to a mixing bowl. If you have a KitchenAid mixing bowl, use that. Add in the sugar, salt, and package of yeast. Gently stir, and walk away from it for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast foams.

Once the mixture has foamed, add in the flour and melted butter. Use your dough hook attachment, and begin mixing on medium speed for about four minutes. Your dough should be smooth and begin coming off of the sides of the bowl.  Remove the dough from the mixer and add it to another bowl. Drizzle the vegetable oil on top of the dough, and toss it to the other side, making sure the exterior is oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for about two hours.

The goal is to have the dough rise, about twice the size of which you placed it in the bowl.

Once the dough has risen, uncover, and give a good smell. I love the smell of fresh dough. Nothing beats that wonderful yeast smell. Well, bacon probably beats that, but still, it is a great smell.

For the next few steps you will want to have everything prepared as things go pretty quickly.

To a large baking sheet, spray the cooking spray on it. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add the salt to a small bowl.

In a roasting pan, if you have one, add the water and the baking soda, and bring it to a boil. If you do not have a roasting pan, use a  deep skillet or another vessel that can hold that water to a boil.

OK, back to the dough. Take the dough and divide it into about 8-10 balls. The dough will be a bit sticky, so use a bit more vegetable oil to lightly coat your hands.

Take each ball and begin to roll it into a rope like shape. Once you begin to get the rope, grab both ends and swing it a bit. Your goal here is to get the rope to be about 7 inches long, or so.

Lay the rope down, and cut about 2 inch pieces. Add these pieces to the boiling water. Let these cook in the water for 20-30 seconds. What happens here is that the dough begins to soften, par cook, and enlarge a bit. Remove with a slotted spoon, trying to remove as much water as possible, and add the cooked dough to the oiled baking sheet.

Brush the egg wash onto the top of each pretzel bite, then sprinkle each one with kosher salt.

Repeat this process for the remaining dough balls.

Once the baking sheet is filled with some pretzel bites, add them to the preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes. They should come out golden brown. The smell is amazing. Take it in. Remove them from the baking sheet and place on a wired rack to cool.

Repeat this process until all of the pretzel bites have cooked.

As the pretzels cook, make the cheddar cheese beer sauce.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of light beer
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cracked black pepper

Add the beer to a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil. Toss the flour with the cheese. Once the beer is boiling, add the cheese and flour mixture, dial down the heat, and stir constantly. Toss in some salt and pepper. Stir, and add to a serving bowl.

When you are ready to plate, add the pretzel bites to a plate with a small bowl of the beer sauce, and dig in.

The flavor of these pretzels are just phenomenal to say the least. Packed with this yeasty smell and flavor, every bite is nicely salted, and that beer and cheese sauce, well, I will let you judge. A perfect snack any time of the day, and better yet, a great game day appetizer that will get all of your friends and family dipping everything into that beer and cheddar cheese sauce! Enjoy.

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See, these are poppers on steroids. Well, not really, but they are wrapped in delicious pork. These game time appetizers will get your family and friends talking. When they are fully cooked, and plated, the questions will pour out. There is some mystery behind these, and not only that, but a lot of great flavor.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 8 whole jalapeno peppers, seeds and stems removed
• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of colby jack cheese, shredded
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 2 chipotle peppers, seeds removed, chopped
• 1 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups of panko bread crumbs
• Cooking Spray

Start by getting all of your ingredients ready. To a small bowl, add the cream cheese, colby jack cheese, salt, pepper, chopped chipotle peppers, and the adobo sauce. Give this a really good mix to incorporate all of the flavors. Set this aside.

As you can see by the photo, I have this really cool jalapeno pepper corer. This corer came with a purchase I had made in the past, and really proves useful for seeding jalapeno peppers. So once you have the seeds removed, cut them in half as noted in the photo below.

Take the cream cheese mixture and stuff it inside of the jalapeno peppers. Repeat until the peppers are filled.

Add the beaten egg to one small bowl, and the panko breadcrumbs to another bowl.

Take the ground pork, enough to flatten in the palm of your hand, and enough that you think would lightly cover the jalapeno pepper. Using your hands, wrap the pork around the pepper, shaping into an egg shape, until it is fully covered. Repeat until all peppers are covered.

Add the pork egg to the egg wash, then over to the panko breadcrumbs.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray your baking sheet with the cooking spray, or lightly coat with some oil. Add the coated armadillo eggs to the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn a very light golden brown.

When the are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes before plating.

Now you can eat these two ways. Once with your hands, or the other with fork and knife. Biting into them yields the wall of pork, then you are hit with the great texture of the pepper. A nice heat level to them is quickly balanced by the smoky cream cheese. Something new for your to try in 2012. You could also deep fry these until a darker golden brown, but regardless of how you do it, you do get a nice crunch from the panko breadcrumbs.

Hope you enjoy!

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Lets get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 4 whole jalapeño peppers, large and firm, stems removed
• 1 tbsp canola oil, to lightly coat the peppers
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Heavy cast iron skillet

That is it. Three ingredients that when combined, will knock your socks off. Let me also state that these peppers can be hot, so if you are into the hot food, this is great. Remember, the seeds are in there, but if you eat around the edges, you should be just fine.

Begin by adding the peppers to a mixing bowl. Add in the oil, and mix around until you know all of the peppers have been coated with the oil.

Add these to a cast iron skillet, and heat on medium to medium-high heat. As the skillet comes to temperature, begin moving the peppers around in the skillet, making sure all of the sides become roasted. This should take anywhere for 8-12 minutes for them to roast.

As soon as the peppers are fully roasted, carefully move them to the mixing bowl and shower them with the salt, gently mixing. Add them to a serving bowl and have your guests (that like hot and spicy) add one to their plate. You simply eat them whole, starting with the smaller tip, and eating your way down.  These can be served alongside just about anything, and they go perfect if you and your friends are drinking beer.

The flavor, although mildly spicy in my opinion, is really amazing. Something about the salt and the roasted flavor of the chile really get the meal going. Simple, fun, and delicious. What could anyone else ask for? Enjoy.

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This bacon jam was not only phenomenal on the burger and could be my go to condiment for burgers now, but in its simplest form is awesome on pretty much anything, including a basic cracker.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb of good bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Hungarian paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cup of strong coffee
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar

Begin by heating a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced bacon pieces, and begin cooking this, rendering all of the fat, and cooking just until slightly crisp, but not super crispy. This will take about 10 minutes or so. During this time, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

When the bacon is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon onto some paper towel to remove any excess fat. Pour off most of the bacon grease, reserving for a later use. Return the skillet back to the heat and add the tablespoon of butter. Toss in the onion and garlic, and let them begin to sweat, cooking on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring along the way.

When the onions and garlic and cooked, add the salt and pepper, along with the brown sugar. Give a good stir, letting the sugar begin to melt away into the onions. After a couple of minutes, add the remaining ingredients and let it come to a boil. Toss in the bacon, stir, and add this to a slow cooker, on low heat, for 3 hours.

After a few hours in the slow cooker, place the mixture into a food processor and pulse down for your desired consistency. I like mine to have some recognizable bacon pieces, but pieces that are not extremely big, almost like bacon bit consistency. Return the mixture to a sauce pan, and cook on medium heat until most, if not all of the liquid evaporates, leaving you with a jam like consistency.

Store in a sealed container for up to three weeks, if it lasts that long.

When you are ready to serve, feel free to spread this on pretty much anything. The texture is spot on, and the flavor is something out of this world. You get the sweetness from the onion, sugar, and maple, and a subtle but ever so delicious bitterness from the coffee, along with the smokiness of the bacon and a slight sourness from the cider vinegar, this bacon jam was something else. Give it a shot and let me know your thoughts! Hope you enjoy.

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This upgraded bacon cheese ball is something that is not only good for a holiday party, but something that is really good any day of the week and can hold its own as leftovers. I’m now curious if it would be great as a grilled cheese sandwich, and I am sure I will give that a shot the next time I make this bacon cheese ball.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, finely diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, finely diced
• 8 pieces of your favorite bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of red onion, minced
• 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
• pinch of black pepper
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of toasted walnuts, finely chopped
• Pita chips

Begin by adding everything but the walnuts and a few tablespoons of the jalapeno and red bell peppers to a mixing bowl. Add the remaining peppers and walnuts to a plate, and mix that up a bit. Now, to the cheese mixture.  Mix everything to incorporate all of the ingredients into the cheese. Shape into a ball.

Take the cheese ball and roll it around on the plate, coating it with the peppers and walnuts. Place this on a serving plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

When you are ready to serve, place a knife into the bacon cheese ball, line the perimeter of the ball with pita chips, and dig in.

Every bite is just loaded with huge flavor. Sweet, smokey, spicy, and creamy, this cheese ball just trumped the boring old classic.

As a side note, this cheese ball ended up being something that my wife and family members love. Could it be the bacon, or could it the cheese? Whatever the case, it is pretty awesome. Hope you enjoy.

Let’s get started.

Serves 4

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cup of masa harina
• 1 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup of Deli ham, thinly sliced and chopped, per arepa
• 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, per arepa
• Your favorite hot sauce

Begin by adding the masa harina and salt to a small mixing bowl, and mix it around with your fingers. Next add the water, and begin mixing, and kneading until the dough comes together. Continue kneading the dough until it forms a smooth dough, and no longer is sticky. At this point in time you can add a bit more masa harina if it is too sticky, or a bit more water if it is too dry. You basically want to form a medium sized ball that you can flatten down a bit, about a 1/2 inch thick by the width of your palm, approximately 3 inches.

Continue this process until you have formed all of the arepas.

Next, heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. The goal is to use a heavy skillet that can retain really good heat. Add the oil and swirl it in the pan. Add the arepas to the heated oil and let them cook for 4 minutes on each side. You want a golden exterior on both sides.

During this time, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

When the arepas as golden on each side, add them to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven.

With a sharp knife, make an incision in the side of the arepa, cutting through the arepa, making an opening. The goal is to not slice this all of the way through, just a nice incision that will allow you to stuff them with the ham and cheese.

If you notice the knife is doughy, much like you would see when you pull a knife from cooking a cake or bread, place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so.

Next, stuff a bit of the cheese inside of the arepa, then some ham, then more cheese on the top of the ham. Place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.

When you are ready to serve, plate them, and serve with a simple salad and a nice drizzle of hot sauce.

The end result is nothing but awesomeness. You have a crunchy exterior with a soft interior, the fresh aroma from the masa, and with the melted cheese and ham, well, you know where I’m going.  Give them a shot, and I hope you enjoy.

Note: I also served these with roasted chicken, cheese, and guacamole, but once again the creations are endless as to what you put inside of them.

Maybe some of you have once heard about a Mexican hot dog, and might have questioned it, much like I did. I recall seeing a show on television and they were talking about Mexican hot dogs, somewhere in the southwest portion of the United States. What it ended up being, and don’t get me wrong, it looked great, was a bacon wrapped hot dog, with tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, and a cream sauce. Once again, it looked great, but I had a better idea, and something I thought would be a bit more authentic. I did not want to go with a bacon wrapped hot dog because I had already did this with my corn dog recipe, as well as simply wrapping the hot dogs in bacon and grilling them. Both amazing, but not what I was looking for in what I am calling the Mexican hot dog.

Let’s get started.

(Serves 1)

• 2 flour tortillas, warmed, per serving
• 3 tbsp refried beans, cooked
• 2 roasted jalapeño peppers, seeds and stem removed, sliced
• 1 hot dog, make it your favorite one, cooked
• 1/2 cup of shredded Colby jack cheese
• Sriracha sauce, optional

Begin by preparing all of your ingredients. To roast the peppers, I simply add them to a hot cast iron skillet, turning along the cooking process, until they are nice and blackened on all sides. Then, remove them, let them cool to the touch, and clean them.

Cook your hot dog any way you like. For this particular recipe, I like to steam them until fully cooked, then lightly sear them in the hot cast iron skillet, just for a little color.

To assemble the hot dog, warm the tortillas until they are nice and flexible. You can do this on a skillet, or in a microwave.

Remove one of the tortillas, spread the refried beans on the base of the tortilla, then top with about 3/4 of the cheese, then the sliced jalapeno peppers. Top with another warm tortilla, pushing down just a bit to melt some of the cheese, then top with the cooked hot dog and the remaining cheese.

You want your tortillas flexible at this point in time. If they are not warm and flexible, either add them back to a preheated skillet, covered, or in the microwave for about 15 seconds, until they are nice, soft, and flexible.

Roll the tortilla, until you have the seam side down. The refried beans and cheese will serve as a the glue, keeping everything in tact.

Slice it in half and serve with Sriracha sauce for additional heat.

This Mexican hot dog is creamy, has a nice snap from the hot dog, a bit of heat from the roasted jalapeños, and when taking a bite, just blends all of those flavors into one.  I hope you enjoy.

You see, I fell in love with the crab rangoon when I moved back to Wisconsin, and one of the first restaurants my wife and I ate at, after we pulled in with the big moving truck, was an American Chinese restaurant that served these deliciously hot bundles of joy.

So instead of making the classic crab rangoon, I thought I would replace the crab and make it a bit more accessible by making a wonderful tasting shrimp rangoon. Not only does it cost less to make, but it also tastes just a good, if not better, than a crab rangoon.

Let’s get started:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup of green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
• Wonton wrappers
• Small bowl of water
• Canola Oil, approximately 3 cups
• Bowl of ice water

Begin by boiling some water, and once boiled, add a generous pinch of salt, and toss in the your shrimp. I realize you can buy precooked shrimp, but something about buying precooked shrimp has always bothered me. Not sure why, but if you want to take the precooked route, by all means go ahead.

Cook the shrimp just until they begin to float to the top. They do not take very long to cook. Once they float, remove them with a slotted spoon and toss them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

Add the shrimp to a food processor and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Add in the green onion, worcestershire sauce, black  pepper, and cream cheese. Pulse this mixture until everything is incorporated. Remove and clean the blade from the cheese and shrimp mixture.

The next step is to make the rangoons. Take about one tablespoon of the mixture and add them to the middle of a wonton. Brush the edges of the wonton with water, then fold into a triangle, try to remove as much air from the triangle so that only the mixture is well formed, then gently press the edges to seal.  Repeat.

Heat your oil in a pot small pot until it reach 375 degrees. Slowly add in the formed wontons, being careful not to bunch them up, an cook until they are a nice, golden brown. These do not take very long to fry. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towel.

Repeat until all of the shrimp rangoons are cooked, but remember to try a couple along the way.

This will be a nice surprise to your guests, and possibly a familiar surprise as well. The real treat is that when biting into them, they will be left with some very nice, and succulent shrimp. Hope you enjoy.

I first encountered larb while living in Dallas and hanging out with my friend Kevin. Kevin and I would frequent his favorite Thai restaurant and do all of the ordering as he was familiar with the cuisine, and language at the time. It was always a real treat to dine with him. He knew how to balance the dishes making the entire meal complete. We would typically start with cold beer, and a bowl of peanuts. Often times we would move onto dishes like larb, fried whole fish, and other really good Thai dishes. All of them were balanced with sweet, salt, and spice.

Larb is something I really like to make. It is a perfect snack, any time of the day. It is kid friendly (minus the chile peppers), and it is a perfect dish to eat with jasmine rice, or better yet, sticky rice.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 lb of ground chicken
• 2 shallots, minced (approximately 3 tbsp)
• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup of toasted rice powder
• 2-5 Thai chile peppers, minced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp palm sugar, or regular sugar
• 1 whole lime, juiced
• Cooked rice, jasmine or sticky rice

You can find all of these ingredients are your local Asian store.

Begin by adding the oil to a large skillet and warm it to a medium, high heat. Once the oil is heated, add the ground chicken and begin cooking until it is fully cooked. This is will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

During this time, prepare the remaining ingredients. If you have never toasted rice before, add about 1/2 cup of rice to a dry skillet. Bring it to medium heat, and give it a good shake about every 2-3 minutes. Your goal is to brown the rice, and once brown, add it to a coffee grinder to make into a course powder.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, make sure you break it all up with a wooden spoon as you do not want any clumps. Drain off any excess water from the chicken, then add the chicken to a mixing bowl.

Add in all of the remaining ingredients, and give it a good mix. If you are serving kids, I would suggest removing the chile peppers from this recipe, or divide the mixture before adding the chile peppers. I would recommend 1-2 chile peppers for the mild at heart, and 3-4 chile peppers for those that love the heat. Regardless if it is one chile or four, the balance is perfect.

Serve in a small bowl with a side of rice. My entire family loves larb. It is just packed with flavor. That sweet, salty, and spice is just something out of this world, and I think you would agree. Better yet, you have just had something you have never tried before, toasted rice. Well, and maybe even fish sauce or sticky rice.

Ingredients: [Print this recipe]

• 1 prepared pizza dough (see recipe), or store bought
• Garlic Cream Sauce (see recipe)
• 3 large onions, caramelized (see recipe)
• 5 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
•  fine corn meal

Make sure you have prepared all of your elements prior to making the pizza. This includes the caramelized onions, the dough, the bacon, and the sauce. Begin by preheating your oven, preferably with a pizza stone inside, to 500 degrees. Cut the prepared pizza dough in half and let it rest on about 1/2 cup of the flour.

Punch down the dough, and begin rolling it out with your hands. If you have your own technique, that is great. However you roll it out, make sure you get about a 12 inch diameter or so. Nothing too fancy. I know that all of my pizzas are very rustic in shape, but I do tend to get it into a circular shape.

Lightly dust a pizza wheel (if you have one) with the corn meal. This does one thing and one thing really well. It allows for your pizza to come off of the stone very easily.

Once dusted, add the rolled out dough. Spoon on the garlic cream sauce, spreading it onto the dough. Shower the caramelized onions on top of the sauce, add the bacon, then top completely with the mozzarella cheese.

Slide the pizza into the preheated oven onto the pizza stone, and cook until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the crust are nice and golden brown. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board or wire rack to let rest of a few minutes before digging in.

The end result is a perfectly textured crust, with the sweetness of the onions, a bit of smokiness and texture from bacon, and this creamy garlic sauce that will just get everyone saying things like ‘oooooommmm, ahhhhhhh, yummmmmm’, and everything in between.

You might want to just go ahead and repeat this process with the other half of the dough, or do what I do, look into your refrigerator and see what you have. Then, make something up, and make it your own. You might be glad you did. Enjoy!