Dinner and A Movie - Men In Black

One of the more interesting concepts in weekend movie watching is the long popular Dinner and a Movie show featured on TBS. The idea is to key a recipe with a popular movie. During movie breaks, the dish or snack is prepared by the chef, step-by-step throughout the movie. You once could get an ingredient list before the movie and cook your way through and then feast during the last 1/2 hour or so of the show. Many of the recipes featured are gourmet, some are expensive, but there is still a lot of snacks and good ol' American food to choose from. I even bought the cookbook. Anyway, they recently featured Men In Black (which I already have in DVD). There are 4 recipes for this movie, but I'm giving you the two I tried and loved! Do visit the website at www.tbs.com. Lots of great recipes there. If you sit back to watch Star Wars IV, you MUST try the Obi-Wan Cannelloni with Darth (To)mater Sauce. Recipes are by Claud Mann. The sole complaint (and it is minor) that I have for Mann's recipes is that he doesn't give options if it is a very expensive ingredient or if it contains alcohol (Other than certain deserts like Rum Cake, I don't cook with alcohol).

Plot Twisted Pretzels

• 1 pound pizza dough (available in most groceries)
• 4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 quart water
• 1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons water

Suggested Toppings: kosher salt, sesame and poppy seeds, Parmesan and garlic, cinnamon and sugar, or your favorite topping

Divide pizza dough into 12 even pieces, and then roll each piece into a 16-18 inch rope. Form dough into pretzels by tying the dough into a loose knot and then pinching the ends across the loops.

Combine the baking soda and the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower each pretzel in the boiling water until it begins to float, about 30 seconds.

Drain each pretzel and transfer to a greased baking sheet, brush lightly with the egg-water mixture and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and any other toppings that sound yummy.

Cover the pretzels with a cloth and allow about five minutes for the dough to rise. Bake in preheated 450°F oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. These are delicious plain or with your favorite mustard for dipping.

Note: Feel free to make your own pizza dough. Use half for pizza tonight, then refrigerate the other half after the first rise for these twists tomorrow or the next day.

Cherry Chocolate Nut Clusters

• 8 ounces raw nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts…or even smoked nuts)
• 4 ounces dried sour cherries or cranberries (I used Craisins)
  
• 16 ounces dark chocolate, cut into pieces
• Sea salt

Place nuts on a cookie sheet and roast in a 350F oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with sea salt.

Place chocolate pieces into a slow cooker or top of a double boiler. Stir often until melted and then fold in the toasted nuts of your choice.

Use a tablespoon to pile individual clusters onto wax paper or Parchment paper. Use a fork to drizzle with white chocolate if desired.

Please note. You can melt chocolate in a microwave. I use a greased, glass measuring cup. Melt in small increments, stir, then put back in the microwave.