Hey... It Was My Birthweek

The Rattlesnake Bar and Grill - Boston, MA
http://rattlesnakebarandgrill.com/

Poe's Nachos

     FINALLY… this trip was 3 years in the making. Don’t ask me why it took me so long. I don’t have an answer. I have wanted to try the antelope tacos at the Rattlesnake since I moved here and first discovered them. If you recall, I also went on a run a couple years ago (titled it "Nacho Average Run") and scoped out all the places in the city that apparently had the best nachos. The Rattlesnake is on the list. Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake has a really unique menu and gets great reviews, especially for its roof deck. I had decided well in advance that this was

Jimmy and Catherine on The Rattlesnake's roofdeck

to be my birthday celebration destination. No ifs, ands or buts. Since my birthday was on a Wednesday this year, I wanted to get dinner with some friends the weekend leading up to my birthday. One of the best parts was that my good friend Kelly from MSU Crew just moved to Maine and was able to come down to join us! Meagan, Jimmy, Karl, Dave, Catherine, Joan, Lauren and Zack all made their way out to join, and I was so grateful. We were able to snag a nice big table on the roof and ordered some delicious drinks to start. I ordered the Thai Mojito which was by far the best mojito I’ve ever had. It was the standard rum, lime and soda water mix, but they threw in some lemongrass syrup too. Big fan of the lemongrass addition.
     Since we were all dying of starvation, we ordered Poe’s Nachos. These chips were loaded with

We all wore teal and were pretty excited about it :]

shredded beef, pepper jack cheese sauce, refried beans, lettuce, black beans, asparagus, corn salsa, minted tomatillo salsa, salsa fresca, cotija cheese and sour cream. This was definitely the most unique plate of nachos I’ve ever had. I loved how they did the steak. It was moist and full of a deep, spicy flavor. The cheese sauce was really unique too. It wasn’t at all like the regular processed “cheese sauce” you’d expect on nachos. I could tell that it was clearly a homemade cheese sauce and it easily covered all the chips. The cotija cheese also added such a great flavor. It’s a harder cow’s milk cheese, and since it’s a little bit more powdery and crumbly it blended in nicely with the cheese sauce and juices from the salsas in the bottom of the dish. I know that may sound weird, but it made for some excellent flavor combinations. The three different salsas had their own awesome unique flavors. Some spicy, some sweet. Plus … with the addition of chunks of asparagus and baby greens… this nacho plate was far from average. I did feel a little bad though when I snapped at the waitress who tried to take away the dish when it still had some of the juices left in the bottom.

Antelope Tacos

Birthday brownie with chipotle ice cream

     For my actual meal I ordered the long anticipated antelope tacos. There were three to a plate, and they came in fried corn tortillas. The antelope meat wasn’t as game-y as I had expected, but boy was it good. I had trouble discerning whether or not the incredible flavor was from the antelope meat itself or from the fact that it was infused with duck fat. Also stacked within each taco was smoked fresno chile, Chihuahua cheese, jalapeno, and bacon ranch (not sure what that is). The all-star of the taco was definitely the meat, and they made sure of it by not overloading it with too many other flavors. The Chihuahua cheese, however, did add a mild and slightly sour flavor. By the end of the third taco, I wished there was a fourth… and a fifth, but all good things must come to an end right?
     For dessert, Meagan and Kelly (not so) sneakily told them it was my birthday, and they brought a big fat brownie with a scoop of chipotle ice cream on top. The brownie was nice and toasty warm (and tasted like freezer to Jimmy). The ice cream was really unique and had that smoky ,spicy chipotle flavor. It was pretty odd, and I definitely couldn't sit down and have a bowl of it, but it was fun to try!

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Rangzen Tibetan Restaurant - Cambridge, MA

http://rangzenrestaurant.com/

     My birthday lunch was on my friends in the accounting department at GG, but the choice was up to me. I had been wanting to try Rangzen for a while (ever since I've lived in Cambridge really), and I truthfully had no idea what Tibetan food would be like. They had a lunch buffet, so I was all in.

 


 Rangzen is a tiny little place on Pearl Street next to Pepper Sky's. The inside was so beautifully decorated with tons of fabrics, unique lighting, and art covering the walls. The food was even more beautiful, and therefore I had to try it all. It's nearly impossible to describe everything because I didn't know what half of it was.

     They served chicken curry (Chhasha Curry) that was different than the Indian chicken curry you may be used to. It had potatoes, onions, tomatoes and spices up the wazoo. It was in a slightly thinner sauce that was less creamy and less powerful in terms of the curry. They also had a chickpea curry dish that was a pretty thick mush of chickpeas, curry and lentils maybe? I'm not positive on that one, but it was one of my favorite things of the whole meal. It was delicious alone or wrapped up inside some of their steamed bread (Phaley). The bread they served reminded me of the bread served at Ethiopian restaurants except that it was a tad less spongy and didn't have that slightly sour flavor. Other dishes included their chicken and mushrooms in a teriyaki sauce (Chhasha Shamo) and Shypta which was basically just pan fried shaved beef with hot green peppers. Both of these were tasty, but nothing too fancy. I get bored of teriyaki easily, so I didn't go for seconds of that.

"Kindly, Please Respect the food and
Do not waste it." Amen. 

     They also had dumplings called Tsel Momo that I believe had spinach, cabbage, tofu, ginger and garlic in them. We all agreed that they needed some sort of dipping sauce (maybe there was one), but we weren't sure what half of the things at the buffet were. The noodle dish they served was called Tsel Chow. It had tofu, spinach, cabbage, carrot, red onion, scallion, ginger, garlic and a little soy sauce and cilantro. I loved the noodles that were in it. I'm thinking rice noodles? They were those kind of translucent ones that are bouncy in your mouth.
   
     As far as side dishes go, they had a lot of really unique salads and steamed veggies like bok choy. One of the salads had mango, green apple, tomatoes, onion, cilantro and lime. I can't say I was a huge fan, but it was totally worth a try. Lots of different flavors that didn't really go together well. They also had a cucumber and yogurt salad, and a bunch of different slaws and pickled dishes, some spicy and some sweet. Everything was very unique and nothing was described well (which is totally fine), so you really had to be up for some experimentation at this buffet. All around I was very please, left full, and got a taste (literally) of what real Tibetan food is like. I love eating in Boston :]

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Bisuteki Tokyo - Cambridge, MA

http://www.bisutekicambridge.com/

All the goods... and an onion volcano.

     Sometimes I'm too cheap for my own good. But other times, I'm pretty excellent at seeking out

and taking advantage of free food when I can. After crawling the interwebz in search of free birthday meals, I found the perfect one. Bisuteki Tokyo is literally directly across the street from Riverside, and it always smells incredible. I've had this big idea to just walk over there one day after practice and get dinner, but it's one of those "maybe tomorrow" kind of deals. Well... apparently you can go on your birthday, and you get a free entree. So that's exactly what I did. I met Meagan there after my workout, and we sat at a table overlooking the river. If you're unfamiliar, this place is one of those Japanese Steakhouses where they cook everything on a flat topped grill called a teppanyaki grill in front of you. Generally you choose an entree consisting of some sort of meat, and it comes with a salad, soup, appetizer, and veggies. 

      I absolutely love the salads they serve at these types of restaurants as well as sushi places. It's some sort of bright orange ginger dressing. I don't know what makes it orange, but it's got such a light and refreshing flavor and is a great way to prepare your palette for your meal. The soup is generally a miso soup, and I really enjoyed this one because it came with large fresh mushroom slices in it. 

      After we finished up our soup and salad, our chef wheeled his little cart over to the grill and started with his fancy knife work. He clinked them, he clanked them, and he made weird noises with his mouth. He built a volcano out of onions, poured oil in the middle, lit it on fire and had a toy boy "pee" on it. He wasn't enthused. I was. Mission accomplished. It was all a show, but it was more hilarious than impressive. Because the entree was supposed to be free, at first I thought I must be slightly confused. I mean...some of the entrees were $30. I thought that there would be no way you could get a lobster, filet minon, and scallop entree for free. No way. But... you could in fact choose any entree you'd like. I wanted the filet minon and scallops. Great choice. He cooked the filet nice and rare like I requested, and the scallops were perfect too. The appetizer

that came with our entrees was a couple shrimp which the chef cooked on the grill with some soy sauce and teryikai. We topped a bed of sticky rice with the meats and a bunch of grilled squashes, sprouts, carrots, and onions. Everything had a slight soy flavor and was super simple. I'd love if I could whip up a meal that quick and perfectly with such minimal clean up. Next Christmas, grandma, I'd like to have a teppanyaki grill installed in my apartment. Thanks!

     As a party of two (and someone who is receiving a free meal), I think our waitress was fairly unamused, as was our chef man. No one squirted Saki in my mouth like they did for Zack. No one banged a gong or sang when they delivered my free birthday cheesecake at the end of the meal. I'd say I was upset, but I wasn't. It had been a great day with lots of good food and great company. I couldn't have asked for anything more :]

    

     

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The Glenville Stops - Allston, MA
http://www.glenvillestops.com/

     Malcolm is a great dude. And not only because he likes good food. He couldn't make my birthday gig at
The Rattlesnake, so we decided to head over to one of his favorites called The Glenville Stops over in Allston. The original building had been around as a bunch of small stores since 1922 until a fire took it out of commission in 2012. After some renovations, it reopened this year and is quickly building quite the name for itself. Something I learned that I thought was really neat is that in their basement they've preserved a ledge of boulders that date back 10,000 years. I don't believe the public is aloud to go down into their cellar, but I still respect the efforts.

Day Boat Scallops

Mushroom Baguette

     This place is also unique because it sits on Glenville Ave in the middle of a completely residential street and has no sign on the outside. It says the name on the door, but it's barely visible, and a passer-by would never guess there's a restaurant inside. As a family run establishment, the Glenville Stops boasts a great atmosphere and a pleasant, polite and polished wait staff. Everything was simple, clean and elegant yet casual.
     Malcolm and I were both starving, and we like to try new things, so we started with a few small plates. The first dish we got was called Day Boat Scallops, and it was two scallops in a mole chocolate sauce with jicama salsa (mexican yam) and grilled mango. You could taste a subtle hint of chocolate, and the sauce was pretty thin with a rich roasted pepper flavor. The scallops were cooked perfectly and had those brown crispy edges you aim for. We also ordered the mushroom baguette with cold seared oyster mushrooms. The oyster mushrooms were so much more dense and chewier than regular button mushrooms. On the base of the baguette was a delicious lemon aioli and basil. So creamy. The dish would've been completely different without it. They threw on some fresh purple sprouts for a little flair.
     They also served a couple slices of soft bread with crunchy exterior. It came with a type of hummus that had a rich and heavy olive oil taste but no bite like that of tahini. I absolutely could've eaten it with a spoon... and I did.

Lamb Meatballs

Roasted Beets

     For the main dish, my first choice was the lamb meatballs. They were simple and juicy like a sponge. The juices would ooze out when you pressed the meatball with a fork. They sat in a bed of tzatziki that was thinner than most, making it taste a little lighter. I liked that much better because the flavor took a back seat to the lamb flavor. Baby greens and sliced mini cucumbers were thrown on top with toasted bulgur. The menu says harissa oil was used, but I can't say I noticed that. Maybe I wouldn't notice? Harissa oil is chillies and rose water, and I'm sure I have no idea what that would taste like.
     Per Malcolm's recommendation I wanted to try the roasted beets too. These were red and yellow beets on a bed of a whipped feta and surrounded by a light dill dressing. The feta had a somewhat smoky flavor, but I couldn't pin it. I wonder if they added some smoked peppers to give it the red color and flavor. It was so smooth and creamy. Everything was topped with small pieces of fried shoestring potatoes and celery leaves. So many textures in this one dish.
     Malcolm ordered the sticky pork riblets which were small 1-3 inch rib pieces served covered in a chunky sweet, peach sauce. This was a delicious alternative to standard barbeque. They were served with hunks of roasted almonds and shishito peppers that weren't hot but gave the brown dish a burst of bright green color. The pork was perfectly tender and took no effort to pry from the bone. The edges of the meat were crispy while the inside was still juicy. Oh the magic of slow cooking.

Sticky pork riblets in a peach sauce.

     Don't judge us. We also ordered the mussels which were soaking in an awesome and unique lemongrass coconut broth. The sauce was so fresh tasting yet rich because of the coconut. Slices of pink pickled ginger were tossed on top along with some green and purple sprouts. The mussels came with two big slices of sourdough bread toasted with what seemed like a form of pesto. The olive oil and herb mix had soaked into the bread like a sponge and crisped up on the edges. That bread was to die for. I'll take the whole loaf please and thank you. The way the oils and herbs separated from the bread once in your mouth was great. So much flavor.

Bar Harbor Mussels

     We almost got out of there without dessert, but then we spotted the drunken goat cheese plate. This came with two huge hunks of a very unique goat cheese. It was different because it is made in a wheel and was much harder than normal goat cheese. It had less of a bite and had been soaked in some sort of wine (hence the drunkeness).  They topped it with roasted almonds and honey and served it with crostini bread (just little crisp slices of olive oil soaked bread) and slices of mango. The perfect arrangement was the crostini with a little piece of cheese and a wedge of mango on top. It was delicious. The savory olive oil taste from the crostini, the mildly sharp flavor of the goat cheese, and the sweetness of the mango was a combination from heaven.

Drunken Goat Cheese

     I love when you can go to a place like The Glenville Stops and try new things that someone has clearly spent so much time experimenting with and inventing. It's truely art, and I enjoy eating things that get my creative juices flowing too.

The Waitress Was Impressed. Story of My Life.

Allston Diner - Allston, MA
http://www.allstondiner.com/

     From the outside, you'd never guess what a gem this place is. After the internet lied to be about their hours, and splitting a donut appetizer across the street, Mary and I were the first people in the door Tuesday morning after pieces. It was a tiny little place, but it had a cozy, retro diner feel. The tables looked like they were all covered in something different. Ours had old comic book clippings. So neat.

The awesome table top

Chicken & Cornbread Waffle

"I can't believe we just ate all that."

 













      I had a $30 Groupon, so we came prepared for a smorgasbord. Large OJ to start. My must-haves were the cornbread waffle and the biscuits and gravy. We also couldn't pass up the Nutella Garden. When everything arrived, it was as if they let out the bulls. I like eating with Mary because she's focused just like me. Food goes straight from plate to mouth. Minimal talking, and if there is talking it's about how delicious the food is.
      Let's start with the cornbread waffle. We had decided to forgo the fried chicken on top, but the dish we were served had the chicken anyway. Needless to say it was a glorious mistake. Those fried chicken strips were just insane. Maybe it's because I haven't had something meaty and fried like that in a while, but it blew my mind. The chicken was juicy, tasted clean, and the coating was super crisp. It was perfect. The cornbread waffle basically tasted like standard cornbread. I wouldn't say it's anything to write home about but definitely worth the try. Way after we were done eating, Mary and I both realized we never actually tried the cornbread and chicken together. We were just so in awe at how good the chicken was, especially with some of the sausage gravy from the biscuits and gravy. Guess we'll have to go back.
     Speaking of which... what in the world did they do to that gravy?!?? It was out of control. It was so delicious and fluffy and full of sausage. I have no idea what made it so fluffy. You've probably never heard anyone describe gravy as fluffy, but I'm telling you... it was. Biscuits were standard, gravy won gold.
     Lastly, the Nutella Garden. In the picture it looks like a regular stack of pancakes.... oh no. It was two hefty pancakes with nutella, peanut butter, bananas and strawberries in between with a mountain of whipped cream on top. Oh man, it was like they attempted to put all the best flavor combinations into one dish. The warmed nutella and peanut butter melted and the fruit was warm. It was absolutely heavenly.
     The three dishes went so well together but were so different. The biscuits and gravy were incredibly savory. The chicken and waffle was hearty, and the nutella garden was a sweet treat. We scraped every crumb off those plates. The waitress was seriously impressed. Story of my life.












Tasty Burger - Cambridge, MA
http://www.tastyburger.com/

The Big Tasty, Onion Rings and Fries

    It was the Saturday after our first 2x6k. After practice finished around 12:30, we all went home and died for a bit. Joan and I had planned to make a trip that evening to the new Tasty Burger in Harvard Square. I had actually been there once before (and got a chicken sandwich... uh... why?) but let's not discuss that. So Joan, Tiffany, Sarah and I headed down to Harvard Square to experience this new hot spot. I ordered the Big Tasty which had cheese, lettuce, pickle, onion, tomato, and Tasty sauce. They weren't kidding about the cheese. So much of it and it was ooey-gooey yummy. It was exactly what I was expecting. Nothing fancy. The 1/3 pound burger was cooked just to my liking (a little pink inside), it had a hefty chunk of tomato on it, and diced onions. I really like when burger joints use diced onions because I get a little bit of onion in every bite without risking pulling out the entire onion ring by my inability to cut it with my chompers. Their "tasty sauce" is also mighty tasty. Apparently they make it in house. 
     The burger as a whole was so incredibly satisfying. To top it all off, I got a half order of french fries and a half order of onion rings. The fries are fresh cut, perfectly salty, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. Can't really get much better. The onion rings were really thinly cut with a light batter on them. I can't stay I've ever had onion rings like that before, and I'm normally into the thicker onion rings, but I'll say ... these thin babies hold a new special place in my hard. So fabulous. 

***Out of Towners***

Cherry Blossom Japanese Restaurant - Novi, MI

Skewers (left to right): Shiitake mushroom, garlic, chicken
stomach, chicken liver, pork, chicken skin

      Most people can't believe that my dad has never had real sushi. But I feel like going out to get really good sushi has become more popular in the last 10 years. Either way, while I was home, we decided to go. Little did I know what kind of an experience it would turn out to be. We chose this restaurant in Novi called Cherry Blossom. We were a little nervous at first, because we arrived around 5:30 and were the only ones there. But, my dad was so excited about trying all these new things, and I was excited to share the experience. First they served us some hot tea. We smelled it and it smelled like fish, so my dad made it a point to get the waitress back to ask her what kind it was. She said it was green tea. We laughed. I'm assuming it just smelled like fish because everything in that place smelled like fish. 

Seaweed Salad

     To start we order 6 little skewers with salt on each item, as opposed to a sauce. We got garlic, shiitake mushroom, chicken liver, chicken stomach, chicken skin and pork. The pork was probably my favorite. It was so succulent. The shittake mushrooms were cool too. I had never had them before, but these were just lightly roasted and soft. The liver tasted just like liver, and the skin tasted just like what I could imagine. Chewy, crispy fatty skin. Delish.
     Then we got started talking about salad and my dad wanted to try the seaweed salad, so we got a little mini salad. Man, this stuff was SO good! It makes me want to start eating seaweed as I'm swimming now. There were probably about 3 different types of seaweed leaves in the salad itself. The texture was just as you'd expect, mildly chewy, and the dressing seemed to be some sort of light sweet vinegar. Kind of felt like I was eating tentacles. I was delighted. 

Alligator Roll

Spider Roll

     Next to the table were our first rolls. This may be tough to recall, but we got the Spider roll (softshell crab tempura, avocado, cucumbers and a spicy sauce), Alligator roll (shrimp inside and tuna draped over the top with a heafty dose of green onions), Sunkissed roll (avocado, cucumbers and maybe something else inside, roe on top. I love popping the little baby eggs in between my teeth). The alligator roll was my favorite out of this bunch. The combination of the shrimp, tuna, the green onions and the delicious sauce it was all bathing in was just delicious. It was a good first round. 

Softshell Crab

     After a brief experience with softshell crab in the Spider roll, my dad wanted to try softshell crab on its own, so we got a plate of that too. Truthfully, I didn't know you ate the entire crab, shell and all. It was delicious though! They were pretty small, so there wasn't much meat involved. It was more just tasty fried skeleton. Don't judge. It's like eating shrimp tails. Why does no one else other than the members of my family eat shrimp tails?! 

(top to bottom)  Raw scallops, Firecracker roll, Dragon
roll, raw shrimp

     Our second round included what we think were our two favorite rolls. One of these two was the Dragon roll, which had eel on the outside and cucumbers, crab and avocado on the inside. The eel was so tasty and the cream cheese and crab mix went so well with it. It's really hard to describe sushi partly because it's hard to recall all the ingredients, and also because it's next to impossible. It's impossible to describe the sensations you feel based on the flavor combinations and locations within each roll. I'm convinced it truely is an art. The second roll we got in this round was the Firecracker roll which had spicy tuna on top, potentially a scallop inside (I can't remember) and a jalapeno on top. Both the Dragon roll and the Firecracker roll stole the show. Each bite was so heavenly. 
     Also on the plate with our two last rolls, came 4 raw shrimp and 2 raw scallops all placed on top of a block of sticky rice. Sometimes I wonder why we even bother cooking seafood. Those dang raw scallops were incredible! They were not chewy and they had a ton of pure scallop flavor. It truely was a thing of beauty. The shrimp were pretty good too, but the texture was a little bit more gummy, if you know what I mean. Definitely worth the try though. 

Red Bean Ice Cream and Mochi Green Tea
Ice Cream

     We were so stuffed by this point (ok well I was) but dessert was definitely not out of the question. I recommended that my dad got the red bean ice cream and I got the mochi ice cream with green tea ice cream inside. The red bean ice cream was delicious and different and he really liked it. If you're not familiar with mochi ice cream, it's basically a ball of ice cream inside this gooey, chewy rice coating. Completely weird. I loved the green tea ice cream, but wasn't sure how to eat/handle the rice shell. 
     Overall, it was a phenomenal experience. My dad absolutely loved it. Being a health conscious man and a raw foods advocate, he really enjoyed how clean everything felt. It was all simple ingredients thrown together in a complex way. Every few seconds I'd look up from my plate to see him shaking his head in disbelief at how awesome his meal was. I felt really fortunate and was really glad I could introduce him to the sushi world. At the same time, I was super appreciative of the time he took to do this with me, as well as his enthusiasm to try new things. Definitely one for the memory book. 

Early Bird Cafe - Keego Harbor, MI

Country Skillet

     Four and a half hours of dancing makes for one hungry lady the morning after. Only a few days after arriving in Michigan, I met up with Meagan, Marc and Todd for some brunch at a little place called The Early Bird Cafe. I had never heard of the place, but wanted to find a place with a hometown diner feel. The line was out the door when we arrived, but we had some time to kill, so we waited it out. This place had to be good. 

The best orange juice ever and the sweetest
hot plate

     The inside was just adorable. It was covered in roosters, floor to ceiling. Totally home-y. Marc and I spotted a juicer with oranges and knew we had to get some of their fresh squeezed OJ. It was phenomenal! So unlike any OJ you buy in the store. It tasted so pure and fresh. The waitresses were bringing out skillet after skillet and I knew that was what I had to get. I went with the Country Skillet which had potatoes, green peppers, onions, sausage and 3 fried eggs on top. Before bringing out the piping hot skillet, the waitress brought me the cutest cast iron hot plate (with a rooster on it of course). When the skillet finally arrived it was still slightly bubbling. I asked for the eggs sunny side up so I could make them ooze all over the rest of the dish, and they cooked them just perfectly. Absolutely delicious. If I had to describe it in one word, I'd say "homestyle." It was actually very similar to the skillet hash dish I got at Deep Ellum back in Beantown, but I can't compare the two. Each dish was perfect and fitting for the environment and ambiance in which it was served. 

Pretzel Nuggets and Jalapeno Cheese Dip - White Lake, MI

Pretzel Nugget with Jalapeno Cheese Dip

     While home for Christmas break, a bunch of my old college buddies and I had a Christmas gathering and I needed to bring a dish. After browsing my pinterest, I settled on Pretzel nuggets and a jalapeno cheese sauce. I was super pumped because I'm ridiculously in love with pretzels.  I was also really excited because I had someone special to help me out. After not realizing the dough had to rise so long, Jake and I finally got to the point where we could start rolling out the dough. As opposed to making the standard pretzel twist, we rolled them into big logs, played with the logs a little bit, and cut them up into nugget shapes. After boiling them in the baking soda solution (which I think is key), they browned up perfectly and got a little crisp on the bottom. As expected they were the bomb straight out of the oven. Warm and fluffy. The cheese sauce was super easy to make too. Aside from the time it takes to let the dough rise, this is a really quick and easy dish to bring to parties.... or to just eat all yourself. 

Pretzel Nuggets and Jalapeno Cheese Dip

Dough:
1 package rapid-rise yeast (must be rapid-rise)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour (16 1/2 ounces)
1 cup water, at approximately 110 degrees
Approximately 1 T olive oil

Baking Soda Solution:
Approximately 6 cups water
3 T baking soda
Salt for sprinkling on pretzels
  

1) Combine all ingredients for the dough.  Mix until combined and then knead about 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Prepare a separate bowl by coating with olive oil, transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat evenly.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about one hour or until doubled in size.  Punch dough down, recover and let rise approximately 30 minutes more.

2) In a large pan bring water and baking soda to a boil over medium high heat.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or just grease it up a little).

3) Separate dough into as many pieces as you think necessary and roll each piece into a long string. At this point, either fold pretzels into shape, twisting the ends over each other and pressing lightly to seal dough into shape or cut into nuggets. 

4) Transfer pretzels, a few at a time to boiling water, cook 30 seconds on each side, turning with a slotted spoon, drain and transfer to prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle with coarse salt and repeat until all the pretzels have been boiled.  

5) Bake approximately 12-14 minutes until dark golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool and serve.

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

1 T unsalted butter
1 T flour
3/4 cup milk
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced
1 cup Colby Jack cheese
1/2 -1 tsp cayenne pepper

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to combine, cooking about one minute until smooth.  Add milk, whisking to incorporate.  Add garlic and jalapeno.  Switch to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until thickened, about 15 minutes.  The sauce should begin to coat the back of the spoon.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Add cayenne pepper to taste.