Hooray for pretzels, fresh from the oven. Hooray.

Even if you’re no expert at twisting them into perfect pretzel bows–and you’ll see from the pictures that I am no expert–the flavor and texture will not suffer. You may have to tell your guests what you’re serving, though.

This recipe comes from a beautiful cookbook called Local Breads, by the author of Bread Alone.

A bench scraper is essential–do not attempt making Bavarian pretzels without one!

Makes 8

3 1/4 cups bread flour
3 tbsp chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups room-temperature water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/3 cup baking soda
Top with kosher salt or sesame seeds

1. Mix flour and butter in low speed of a mixer with paddle attachment, about 2 minutes. Dough should be crumbly. Using dough hook, add water, yeast, and salt and increase speed to medium. Mix for about 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and springy.
2. Move dough to oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. Dough will not double in this time, it will just begin to grow larger.
3. Oil a baking sheet. Remove dough from bowl and divide into 8 parts. (Never pull or tear dough–use a knife or the bench scraper.) Cover and let rest for 7 minutes. On a lightly oiled surface, and with oiled hands, roll each piece of dough into a long strip–18 inches or so. 
4. Twist the ends, leaving an O shape.
5. Twist the ends again.
6. Pull the ends over the O to create the pretzel bow. 
7. Transfer to the baking sheet.
8. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours, removing just before they are boiled.
9. Heat oven to 350. Bring a large part of water to boil, slowly adding the baking soda. (Seriously, slowly. I ended up with quite the bubbling mess when I dumped the full amount into already-boiling water.)
10. Turn burner to low and add pretzels one at a time. You may need to do these in multiple batches to avoid overcrowding. Boil on each side for 20 seconds, then return to baking sheet.
11. Add your salt or sesame seed toppings and bake for 30 minutes.
12. Let pretzels cool for 10 minutes before eating.

Serve with spicy mustard sauce — a mixture of dijon mustard, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Start with a 1/3 cup of sour cream and add additional ingredients to taste. Can be made 2 days in advance.

I ran into trouble on step 7–I kept losing the shape during transfer. You could experiment with using an oiled spatula or doing a quick transfer to parchment paper. Please post any improvements to these methods in the comments!

Fresh bread doesn’t stay fresh long, but it doesn’t need to go to waste. Why not make breadcrumbs?

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Add pieces of stale bread to your food processor.
3. Pulse a few times.
4. Spread onto baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
6. Freeze in airtight container. They should stay good for about 2 months.

I recently went blueberry picking and returned with 25 pounds of my favorite fruit. A bit daunting, even for this blueberry lover. So into the freezer they had to go.

This is a very simple process, and it keeps the blueberries in great condition. It makes me wonder what happens to the commercially frozen blueberries that makes them look so mangled.

1. Spread blueberries in a baking pan lined with parchment.
2. Freeze for several hours.
3. Seal in freezer bags to preserve the taste of summer for many months to come. Maybe you’ll make some awesome blueberry muffins.

Spicy Chicken Pasta for Two

Two chicken breast halves
Pasta
A half cup of good, fresh salsa
A cup or so of brie
1 cup buttermilk (or regular milk)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
Olive Oil

1. Start boiling water and add pasta when ready.
2. Melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat and add brie in pieces. Mix in until melted. Add buttermilk, salt, cayenne, and pepper flakes. Return to heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Add salsa and keep warm.
3. Spice chicken with cajun seasoning. Saute in olive oil until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.
4. When pasta and chicken are done, combine all three elements to complete the dish.

Nothing too tricky here, except the good salsa. I’ll post my recipe for it soon; in the meantime, here are some you might try:

• This one I’m dying to try: Ersatz Papalote salsa from Chow
• Tomatillo salsa from Gourmet
• Simply Recipe’s tomato salsa

I am thankful for long summer days, baseball, and chocolate espresso brownies. Especially these chocolate espresso brownies.

Many people have mixed feelings about Mark Bittman, but I sometimes turn to him for simple, classic recipes. I also like that he offers suggestions for altering recipes–in fact, the addition of espresso in this recipe is one of his “Eight Simple Ideas for Brownies” in How to Cook Everything.

2 oz chopped unsweetened chocolate
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp instant espresso

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8×8 pan.
2. Set up a makeshift double boiler (or a real one if you have it), simmering water in the bottom pan and placing butter and chocolate above it in a metal bowl or another pan. Melt the butter and chocolate together very slowly.
3. When smooth, pour into a mixing bowl and add sugar. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then add the rest of the ingredients. 
4. Pour into the pan and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes or so. I baked mine for just 17 minutes, which resulted in an extra fudgy, moist brownie. Let cool for 10 minutes or so before cutting, or use a plastic knife to cut if you absolutely must dig in immediately.

I could have eaten the entire pan, but friends came over so I didn’t get to have to.

Focaccia is a perfect project for a day that you need to spend at home. The total amount of time you spend working with the dough isn’t too bad, but you do need to give it frequent attention. Start at least 7 hours before you’d like to take the bread out of the oven.

I modified a recipe from The Bread Bible to make this wonderful picnic sandwich. The Bible recommends 1 cup of all-purpose flour and one cup of durum flour; because I didn’t have any durum flour I opted for 2 cups of bread flour. I did this because durum flour has a high protein content, and because I couldn’t find any quick answers for the best durum substitute and I needed to get this bread started so it would be done in time for my evening picnic. I think it worked beautifully, but maybe there was a better substitute I should have used.

Herb Focaccia

1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup durm flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 cup room-temperature water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
fresh herbs

1. Mix flours, yeast, water, and oil just until combined. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
2. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth. I opted for the KitchenAid here because it allows adequate kneading without adding flour. This dough needs to remain very slack and sticky. 
3. Move dough into unoiled bowl to rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
4. On lightly floured surface, carefully press down on dough, flattening it into a square without completely pushing the air out. Fold in all four sides and return to bowl to rest for another 30 minutes.
5. Repeat step 4, but return to bowl for 2-3 hours, until dough is doubled in bulk.
6. If you need to go out, this is your chance! Run to the bank, the post office, the mall. Just be back in time for step 7.
7. Gently shape dough on floured surface and let rest for 15 minutes.
8. Stretch dough into long rectangle and place on floured parchment. Flour dough and roll out to make a 6×10 inch rectangle. Roll out an additional 2 inches from the 6-inch side, leaving a thick 4 inches and a very thin 3-4 inches. Splash water on thick part of dough and top with slightly wet herbs. Fold the thin part of dough over to cover the herbs.
9. Roll over the top of the dough until the herbs become visible. Do not be afraid to push out some of the air bubbles. Try to maintain the rectangular shape as you do this; it should be about 14×6 inches at this point.
10. Let rise for 2 hours or so, until it is about 1 inch high.
11. Place a cookie sheet or bread stone into oven. Also add a pan that you can toss ice into when you put the dough in.
12. Oil dough, dimple it with your fingers, and sprinkle with coarse salt. With dough still on the parchment, slide it into the oven onto a cookie sheet or bread stone. Throw some ice cubes in and quickly shut the door. Reduce heat to 450.
13. After 10 minutes, take the bread out, flip it over, and peel the parchment off the back. Then return to the over for another 5 minutes. It should be about 210 degrees in the center for the bread.
14. Place bread on cooking rack.
15. Enjoy!

I was headed to an outdoor movie screening last night and wanted to pack a picnic. I added grilled chicken breast, fresh tomatoes, basil, brie, mayo, and salt and pepper.

Then I popped it on the Forman grill to make a panini.

Mmmmm….

July has sent me running from the kitchen. Almost. It’s awfully hot here in Washington, DC, so what could be better than a cool salad covered in fresh heirloom tomatoes and homemade dressing. Not much, it turns out. Here’s my take on Emeril’s recipe.

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 big basil leaves, chopped

I put everything into a Ball Jar so that I could simply shake it up to emulsify the ingredients.

And it was lovely.

I’m a little old for a coming-of-age story, but my quest for the perfect blueberry muffin recipe resulted in a big leap toward full-fledged adulthood for this 26-year-old. This was the first time I actively cast off a treasured family recipe in search of something better.

I hadn’t been able to find that old recipe in my book, so of course I only came to crave those muffins more. When, last month, I finally got that recipe from my mother, I was terribly disappointed. The muffins were delicious right out of the oven, but turned dry just hours later.

I complained to my father, who said that he had developed the perfect recipe. I eagerly tried it, but found it to be very ordinary (though a big improvement over the old muffins).

And then I did something I had never done before: I found a recipe that put the family recipe to shame, and I became a real adult. Or something.

King Arthur Flour saved the day with a pure stroke of genius: a 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. Unbelievable.

Favorite Blueberry Muffins

6 tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease muffin tin or spray insides of paper liners.

1. In small bowl, combine flour, salt, and  baking powder.
2. In bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.
   
4. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
   
5. Add milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat just until combined.
6. Carefully fold in the berries.
7. Scoop in equal portions into 12 prepared muffin cups. Use all of the batter here.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
   
9. When finished, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. This is truly the hardest part of the recipe, because the muffins smell so good. But it is a must–the muffins are too tender and delicate to manhandle the way I normally would.

They are also worth the wait. Try not to eat too many.