I meant to be finishing all our honeymoon posts to get them up, I promise. But then we were unexpectedly gone for 8 days instead of 4 over Thanksgiving. And I got back to realize oh, shoot, I only have 6 days to put up the Christmas tree and decorations, plan the menu, shop, and cook for our Christmas party, and oh wait, make that 5 days because I am volunteering at our work kid's holiday party all morning the day of the party. And then the actual party and recovering.
SO! To tide you over until the rest of the honeymoon posts are done (what? it takes a looong time to wade through 1260 pictures to pick out the ones you want to use and figure out which stories are worth telling), here is a delicious recipe from the party. That's why you come here anyways, right?
Luckily, I made these 2 weeks beforehand and stuck them in the freezer. They are a bit time consuming, so it was nice to have them out of the way already! Not gonna lie, they probably wouldn't have gotten made otherwise. And they were a big hit at the party; the bites would be great as a make-ahead snack, too, just pulling out a few at a time to pop in the oven.
The only thing I would do different is to wait until the bites have cooled before brushing them with butter and sprinkling on the salt - even though it was super coarse, it still melted right into the pretzels!
The original recipe calls for country ham, but do you know how expensive that is? Around here, that would mean ordering a large amount from an online supplier, to the tune of $50-$80. No thanks! So I bought prosciutto from the deli counter instead, where I had a lovely 15 minute conversation with the deli worker about Italy (see, look, this is related to the honeymoon!) as he painstakingly cut the prosciutto as thin as possible. I told him it was getting chopped for a dish so it didn't need to be less-than-paper-thin, but he takes his prosciutto seriously - he and his wife last year took a cooking class vacation in Tuscany where they went to a shop and learned all about prosciuttio being made. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry that day!
Ham & Cheddar Pretzel Bites
(makes about 5 dozen; adapted from October 2009 Gourmet (may it rest in peace)) 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tblspn + 1 tsp packed light brown sugar
1/4 c warm water
1 c warm milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
4 oz cup finely chopped country ham or prosciutto
4 oz finely chopped sharp Cheddar
6 c water
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
~2 tblspoons pretzel salt or coarse salt
~1/2 c spicy Dijon mustard
~2 tblspn honey
Dough
1. Stir together yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar, and warm water in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, 5-8 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) In a separate bowl, stir remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar into warm milk until dissolved.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour if needed.
3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and/or towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 h.
Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 400°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
2. Turn dough onto a floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-16 inch-long rope.
3. Arrange so a long side is near you, then roll out to a roughly 12-16 inch by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Gently press one fourth of ham and cheese into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge.
4. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope. Cut rope into 12-16 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan. Repeat three more times. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, 30 minutes (dough will rise slightly).
5. Bring water (6 c) to a boil in a large sauce pan. Reduce heat and stir in baking soda. Cook pretzel bites in batches in gently simmering water, turning once, until slightly puffed, about 20 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to sheet pans.
6. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 15 minutes (cheese may ooze slightly). Brush pretzel bites with butter and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Serve warm or at room temperature with jalapeño mustard for dipping.
Sauce
1. Mix together mustard and honey, adjusting ratio to taste.
