Pretzswords: Soft Pretzel Swords

Soft Pretzel Swords for Your Food Arsenal

Everyone needs a few armaments round the table. So why not make them delicious as well? The characters of Westeros seem to always be heavily armed - even at dinner. Here at House Cook, our arsenal is equipped a little differently. Sure, we have a couple of broad swords lying around, but when it comes to food our swords are completely edible.

If you love soft pretzels, then follow our recipe and shape them into pointed swords and knives that will make you ready for battle...or maybe just snack time. Whether you're fighting or eating, we recommend you always have a pretzel on your side.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Bake time: 10 minutes

Makes 8-12 Pretzels (less or more depending on how big you make them)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1 packet active instant yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

3 3/4 - 4 1/4 cups flour

1 egg

Salt for flavor

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Stir gently with a spoon for about one minute until mixed. Add salt and sugar and stir until thoroughly combined. One cup at a time, add in three cups of flour. Mix with a wooden spoon while you add until the dough is thick. Add flour a quarter cup at a time until it is no longer sticky. 

Step 3: Flour a flat surface. Place the dough on top and knead if for about three minutes. Shape into a ball. Separate the dough into sections for the pretzels. You can make each pretzel as big or small as you want.

Step 4: To shape the swords, we used two different techniques. The first is to roll the dough into a long rope. Fold the rope in half and twist it together. Shape the end into a point and add two clumps of dough at the thicker end for the hilt of your sword. The other technique is to roll the dough into a long rope. Flatten the rope and then pinch it together with two finger. Pull one end into a point. Now take a smaller piece of dough and make a hilt that is large at the ends and thin in the middle. Lay the hilt over the top of the sword. Place each sword on the parchment paper when it is complete.

Step 5: Beat the egg into a small bowl. With a brush or your fingertips, spread egg over the top of you pretzels. Sprinkle with salt. (I like to use garlic salt on my pretzels). Place pretzels in the oven for ten minutes or until the bottom is golden brown.

And that's it! An easy and quick pretzel recipe with a Game of Thrones twist. We hope enjoy this great treat for a regular snack or a Game of Thrones viewing party.

Lord of Light and Fluffy: Cinnamon and Honey Gluten Free Pancakes with a Honey Syrup Drizzle

In Westeros, the Lord of Light is a powerful god. Of course, when we think of this Lord of Light all that comes to mind for us are delicious, homemade pancakes. In some ways, all we think is Lord of Lite and fluffy! Which is why today we're bringing you our very own cinnamon and honey, gluten free pancakes with a unique cinnamon and honey syrup drizzled over.

These absolutely delicious pancakes are perfect for breakfast, obviously, but they also make an excellent dish when you want breakfast for dinner--or brinner.

Cinnamon and Honey Gluten Free Pancakes and Honey Syrup Drizzle Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 10 minutes

Makes 10 pancakes 

Difficulty: Easy 

Ingredients:

Pancakes:

3/4 c brown rice flour 

1/4 c potato starch

1/4 c tapioca flour 

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp white sugar 

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp of salt 

2 eggs

2 tbsp canola oil* 

2 tbsp honey

1 c almond milk

Honey Drizzle:

4 tbsp canola oil*

4 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

*I used safflower oil which has a lot more vitamin E than canola.

**I made the drizzle while cooking the pancakes so that they would both be hot and tasty at the same time. If you prefer the drizzle cool, you may want to make it first. 

Pancakes: 

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set them aside. 

Step 2: Whisk the eggs, oil, honey, and milk together in a bowl until they are thoroughly mixed then pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir they have completely mixed and have become a nice batter. The batter may seem a little more runny than normal. This is fine. If you're concerned, simply add a tablespoon more of rice or tapioca flour.

Step 3: Scoop roughly 1/3 c of batter and pour onto a hot griddle to make your pancakes. 

Tip: to get nice fluffy pancakes, wait until lots of little bubbles appear in the batter and then flip. Once you flip, resist the urge to press your spatula down on the pancake. The less it's touched, the fluffier it will be! 

Now that you've made the pancakes, you're ready for the drizzle! 

Drizzle Recipe: Stir the oil, honey and cinnamon together in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat for about 5 minutes then increase the heat to a medium-high until the mixture begins to bubble and boil. Once it's at a boil, reduce heat to low and continue to stir periodically while the drizzle simmers. Pour over your pancakes whenever you're ready and enjoy!

I like a pat of butter with my pancakes, but these delicious pancakes certainly don't need it! Keep your pancakes lighter by skipping the butter. These are also delicious with a berry syrup or even your favorite maple! 

Mother of Dragons! Guacamole

Sometimes you learn the hard way that walking through fire doesn't always turn eggs into dragons. It's disappointing but true. Even the mother of dragons had to learn this the hard way. 

The question is: what do you do with the egg? If you're anything like us, you turn it into delicious guacamole. Our guacamole recipe is fast, easy, and tastes excellent. Keeping it simple makes for a tastier guacamole that anyone can make. In no time at all you can turn that dud dragon egg into spicy dip that your whole army will envy. 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados (squishy is better)
• 1 roma tomato
• 15 fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 - 1 (depending on how spicy you like it) medium-sized jalapeño
• Juice from two fresh limes
• Onion powder - ½ tsp
• Garlic salt – ½ tsp
• Table salt – ½ tsp
• Finely ground red pepper - ¼ tsp

Step 1: Don't peel the avocado. Simply start at the stem and cut all the way around the pit until it is sliced in half. Remove the pit. Cut the avocado into a grid while still in the peel and then squeeze each half into the a medium sized mixing bowl. Do this to all three avocados.

Step 2: Chop the roma tomato and add it to the bowl.

Step 3: Finely chop or tear the cilantro leaves and put them in the bowl.

Step 4: Very finely chop the jalapeño (either half or whole, depending on level of spice you want). Make sure to chop it into very small pieces (you don't want to take a bite with a big piece of jalapeño in it). Add to the bowl.

Step 5: Add all spices to the mix. Add lime juice.

Step 6: Don't stir this with a spoon. Take the knife you used to chop the ingredients and cut through the mixture. Cut all the way through the mixture until the larger pieces of avocado are chopped and then stir using the knife. This will keep the guacamole from becoming too mushy when you stir. The guac will taste better if it’s not too finely mashed. If you cut through the mixture, it will leave pieces of avocado - which provides a much nicer taste and texture.

Step 7: Taste it. Add salt or lime juice as needed. Serve with corn chips. Or if you want a healthier and tasty option, try sweet potato chips instead.

Enjoy your dip, and next week we'll show you how to make a spicy chicken to go along with your guacamole.

Dire Wolf Puppy Chow

The long lunch is almost over... time for a midday snack.

A dire wolf is man's best friend. He's friendly, loyal, energetic and very likely to bite someone's face off if they try to hurt you. Most of all, a dire wolf is soooooo fluffy! What better way to spend time with your best buddy than curled up under a blanket on the couch with a delicious snack in hand while you watch the dire wolves do their thing on Game of Thrones.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Feeds: a pack of ravenous wolves

Ingredients: 

(All of the ingredients pictured above used for this recipe are corn free )

roughly 9 cups of Rice Chex

1/2 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
Two 1 gallon zip-lock bags

1. First, melt your chocolate chips in a double boiler. Don't have a double boiler? Me either. If you don't have a double boiler, you can use a glass, metal, or otherwise heat safe bowl in a pot with water. To use a bowl, make sure the bowl is floating in the water. If it is sitting on the bottom, your chocolate may burn. 

2. Once the chocolate has fully melted, add the peanut butter to the double boiler and mix them together. 

3.  When the peanut butter and chocolate are thoroughly mixed together, pour the rice chex into a large mixing bowl and slowly pour chocolate/ peanut butter mixture over the chex. 

4. Stir until the chex is covered with the chocolate.

5. Put half of the powdered sugar in a gallon ziploc bag and half in a second bag. Divide the mixed chex between the two bags.

6. Seal the bags and shake the mixture until it is entirely coated in powdered sugar -- add more powdered sugar if needed.

And now you have Dire Wolf chow: the perfect snack for while you read (or watch) Game of Thrones.