Cocinando con Alena

They are much better than the ones that you buy at the mall, and are so easy! They are cheaper to make at home too. Hot Buttered Pretzels Ingredients: All purpose flour     12 1⁄2 Ounce (for dough) Sea salt     1 Teaspoon (for dough) Sugar     1 Teaspoon (for dough) Instant yeast     2 1⁄4 Teaspoon (for dough) Warm water     1 1⁄2 Cup (24 tbs) (1 cup for dough+ 1/2 cup for topping) Baking soda     1 Tablespoon (for topping) Vegetable oil     1 Tablespoon (for greasing)  Unsalted butter     3 Tablespoon Directions: GETTING READY 1. Preheat oven to 500 degree. 2. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. You can also use parchment paper to line it. 3. For topping, in a bowl, whisk warm water and baking soda. Microwave for 1 minute, and keep it aside. MAKING 4. For dough, in stand mixer bowl, add flour, salt, sugar, and instant quick rise yeast. 5. P...

German chocolate cakes hardly needs any introduction. A tall, dark chocolate cake layered with a rich custard filling made of toasted coconut and pecans and then glazed with a dark chocolate ganache. How can anyone not like German chocolate cake? Sign me up for a breakfast slice (or two). This recipe comes barely adapted from David Lebovitz. What can I say, the man knows his German chocolate cakes. Overall, I was pretty happy with how this turned out. The cake is rich, moist and has a deep chocolate flavor, and I could eat the filling by the spoonful (and did). I did end up biffing it though with the ganache and had to make another batch because it turned out grainy. I got impatient waiting for it to cool and kept tinkering with it in an attempt to get it to set up faster. So, while ganache version two-point-oh chilled, I had some time to read up on my Ganache 101, which I’ve detailed before. I should really follow my own advice… Ganache can also be intimidating if you don’t k...

What a fantastic idea ! I’m already imagining lots of variations with different cheesecakes (my family’s favourite is a lemon baked cheesecake I make… would be gorgeous as a lemon and white chocolate bite version with candied lemon rind as a ‘garnish’. Mmmm). It’s kinda like a super amped up delicious better-than-a-truffle dessert.. Recipe >> Strawberry Cheesecake Bites @ simplygloria.com

Made these for Superbowl Sunday. Used strip steak. They were AWESOME!!!!!! Everyone LOVED LOVED LOVED! To accomodate everyones tastes I browned onions mushrooms and peppers all seperately in the morning. When it came time to make the sandwiches it was super simple to grill to order, so everyone had the toppings they wanted. Twisted the ends of the foil differently depending on the toppings inside and everyone was happy. One of my friends who usually just picks at her food ate the entire sandwich…something i have never seen her do. Will be making these again. Recipe >> Cheesesteaks @ thelittlekitchen.net