Hot Baked Pretzels

Pretzels are commonly thought to have originated in Bavaria, but they can be traced back to Roman times. Legend says that the crossed ends represent arms folded in prayer.

Easy to make, allow one hour to rise, these pretzels are a great fall addition to an Oktoberfest party or stack them up on dowels and take-along to the weekend tailgate. Mustard optional!

Hot Baked Pretzels Recipe

Makes 12 large pretzels

1 teaspoon brown sugar

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water, 120 degrees F

4 1/2 - 5 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon Olive oil

For Pretzel Wash:

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

For The Topping:

1/4 cup kosher salt

Optional Additional Toppings: caraway seeds, sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water. Let yeast bloom for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the dough is too wet add the remaining 1/2 cup a flour a little at a time. Knead the dough until smooth and it comes off the sides of the bowl cleanly about two minutes; then remove to a floured board and knead for a total of about 4-5 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place (about 80 degrees) until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

When risen, turn dough out onto a large lightly floured cutting board and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about eight inches in length, and twist into a pretzel shape. With a large skimmer, dip each pretzel dough into the baking soda solution and back on cutting board, top each pretzel with salt and any other optional topping.

Place pretzels on a greased baking sheet, bake for 8 minutes, or until browned.

From Adventures in Grilling Cookbook, by George Hirsch with Marie Bianco.

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Ribs and Sauce

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Ribs & Sauce — a perfect relationship

Everyone has a favorite way to serve ribs. Some like it dry with just a rub, others will dip dry ribs and wet them down with a vinegary sauce; or slather them up with a sugary sticky sauce right before coming off the grill. I'm often asked how I like my ribs the best. Really, I like them both ways, it just depends on what mood I'm in. It's definitely going to be a sticky rib weekend!

Ribs cannot be prepared in a hurry, so toss a burger on a separate hot grill while you wait. How-to prepare the Ribs.

For Making Ribs with Sticky Sauce:

15 minutes prior to removing the slow cooked ribs, brush ribs lightly with a little sauce to moisten and add flavor. Remove, cut and serve ribs as is or serve extra sauce on side for pouring over ribs. 

GH Rib Sauce Recipe

 Makes 3 cups

chefgeorgehirsch.com  | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon thyme

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons fresh grated orange zest

1 cup ketchup 

1 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Place the onion, green onions, garlic, cumin, thyme, vinegar, orange juice, and sugar in a small pot.  Boil until the vinegar is reduced by half.  Add orange zest, soy sauce, ketchup, tomato sauce, hot sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

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Not so sure how well this will go over as a Vatlentine's Day present - but it could be accompanied by grilled steaks for two, a bottle of wine, candlelight + chocolates.

Circa 1932, New York's own Gold's Pure Food Products Horseradish is an important staple + condiment to have in the refrigerator. It can jazz up dressings, sauces and put a nice spin on a serving of mashed potatoes. Also it's great if you are committed to limiting the amount of butter to your meal portions. Horseradish also happens to be good for you too; it's fat free and less than 5 calories per tablespoon. If you don't have fresh horseradish on hand, the prepared version of grated horseradish is a great alternative.