Pretzels with roasted garlic and mustard butter

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If you have been following this blog for a while now, it would be quite obvious that I lean towards dishes that are easy and quick to prepare. It wasn’t always that way, however, particularly in the now quite distant “BK (Before Kids) Era” when I most certainly had more time on my hands.

Not that I realised it at the time.

But every now and then I get an itch to try something new in the kitchen. Be it a dish I haven’t made before, or to use an ingredient that I haven’t yet tried. When we decided on a German theme for our (not so) recent Fathers Day Linner, memories of walking the streets of Munich with a soft pretzel in hand came flooding back. Another BK Era experience, but one I knew I had to re-create (the pretzel part, at least ) even knowing that it would require a good amount of time.

I found this recipe – which was perfect inspiration and just what I was hoping to create. I started by making a dough, and after leaving it to prove for an hour, divided the dough into 8 portions. Each portion was then rolled into a log, and twisted into the all too familiar pretzel shape.

After resting for another 30 minutes, I simmered the pretzels in water / brown sugar / bicarb soda, until they had started to puff.

After a quick drain, it was time to bake! Before popping the pretzels into the oven, I brushed the tops with a little egg  wash and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.  After 12 minutes in a hot oven, they had turned a gorgeous golden brown.

As for the roasted garlic and mustard butter, well this was definitely the simplest part. I roasted the unpeeled garlic cloves (drizzled with a little oil and enclosed in foil for 20 minutes. Then, when cool enough to handle, I squeezed the garlic from the skin, and added it to softened butter with a good amount of seeded mustard.

When it was time to serve, it was just a matter of plating  the pretzels with a bowl of the butter alongside for our family to help themselves. I was thrilled with the finished product – the pretzels were light and fluffy, and worked beautifully with the garlic  mustard butter. They were a nice alternative to the usual bread or bread roll side  (and not to mention a fantastic trip down memory lane!)

You can find the recipe here.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks for some of the other German-inspired dishes we served!

Father’s Day 2019

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Sleep-ins, smiles, sunshine and food – yes those seem to be the recurrent themes of Father’s Day these past few years. For Canberra again gave us an almost Spring-like weather to celebrate the main Man in our lives – and the girls ensured that he was well and truly spoilt throughout the day!

There was breakfast in bed, lots of homemade cards and gifts, followed by a ‘leave pass’ to go and get a massage!

 Not to mention our usual Father’s Day Linner which was, of course, given an international theme. This year – it was all things German!

Nibbles to start, served with a rather refreshing “Hugo” cocktail – made with gin, elderflower cordial and prosecco.

Followed by the main event – featuring homemade soft pretzels with garlic butter, mushroom tartlets, schnitzel and a variety of sides – potato salad, kale salad, marinated red cabbage and a cucumber / dill salad.

All together now!

And for dessert? Well why have one dessert when you can have two!

Warm apple strudel straight from the oven(not pictured), along with a chocolate fix in the form of a black forest inspired chocolate ripple cake.

And before we knew it, the afternoon had turned into evening, as we shared a wonderful day with family celebrating the fathers in our lives. Not to mention adding another food “destination” to our annual Father’s Day celebration.

And just because I can’t resist a trip down memory lane…

2012

2013 – Chinese themed

2014 – Turkish themed

2015 – Mexican themed

2016 – Italian themed

2017 – Greek themed

2018 – Island themed

And finishing with 2019… German themed!

German inspired

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This meal  was inspired by Mr BBB’s love of German food. Me, I can take it or leave it, but break out the bratwurst or leberwurst and Mr BBB is one happy man. So when he came across these knackwurst during our recent trip to the grocery store, they found their way into our shopping trolley without delay. IMG_7425 I was then left with the all important decision of what to make with them. IMG_7420 Although I know very little about preparing German cuisine, I do know that cabbage features quite prominently. IMG_7421 So to accompany the knackwurst, I opted to make a warm cabbage and apple side dish. IMG_7422 Cabbage, apple, onion, dijon mustard, butter, brown sugar, mustard powder and apple cider vinegar. IMG_7423  IMG_7424IMG_7426 Cooked for a good hour or so until the cabbage and apple had softened. Then in went the sliced knackwurst, and cooked for a further 30 minutes until warmed through. IMG_7427 Ok – this dish may not be much to look at.. IMG_7429 But you will have to trust me when I tell you that it was delicious. IMG_7430 Like ‘oh so’ delicious. IMG_7432 The knackwurst were quite tasty, but it was the soft, buttery sweet cabbage that had me swooning. IMG_7428 Who would have thought that the humble cabbage could end up so tasty!? What about you? Are you a fan of German food?