Let's Stay in For the Movies!

I love going to the movies and one of my favorite things about going is the food.  Just give me a bag of movie theater popcorn or some pretzel bites and cheese sauce and I am happy—I don't really even need the movie! :)  After recently watching the Oscars and deciding to re-watch all of the movies we own, I thought a movie night dinner would be terrific.

Drink...

Adult Soda (Campari and Soda)
Thinking of a drink to go with my movie night dinner was a little difficult because all I ever drink at the theater is soda.  Then, I thought, "Hey, what about an Icee?"  But, we don't have a blender.  Then, I considered just making Kiddie Cocktails because they are basically soda made even better.  However, I decided to go with Doug's idea of making an "adult soda."  This was a great idea and Doug has been wanting to try Campari for a while now—perfect!  But not really perfect because I found that I am not the biggest fan of Campari.   It was a little bitter, but the next day I tried it in an Americano (one part Campari, one part sweet vermouth, splash of club soda, and a twist of lemon) and I liked it much better.   
Ingredients:

• Campari Liqueur
• Club Soda
• Orange (for garnish)

 Directions: 

1. Fill a glass with ice.
2. Fill 1/3 the glass with Campari.
3. Fill the other 2/3 with club soda.
4. Stir and garnish with an orange slice

Dinner...

Pretzel Bites & Pizza Bites

When you go to the movies you can't eat with a knife and fork, so I went with all finger foods for this one!

Pretzel Bites with Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

*recipe from Smells Like Home

These were my best batch of bread yet!!! Finally, a success! The pretzels were not as good as Auntie Ann's or Wetzel's, but they were better than the frozen soft pretzels you can buy in the grocery store.  The cheese sauce, however, was not the greatest.  I think I'll stick to my processed cheese for pretzel bites and either use Velveeta or nacho cheese next time! 
Ingredients for the Pretzels:

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• Pretzel or Kosher salt

Directions for the Pretzels:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, and yeast on low speed for 10 seconds.  Switch to the dough hook and add the flour and butter.  Mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it to a well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a wide 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Slice each rope into 1-inch pieces.  Place a damp towel over the pretzel pieces to prevent them from drying out while you roll and cut the other pieces.
5. Using a slotted spoon, lower a handful of the pretzel pieces into the boiling water and boil them for 30 seconds, flipping them around in the water with the spoon a couple of times. Remove the pretzel pieces from the water using the spoon, drain as best you can, and place them on the baking sheets. Brush the top of each pretzel with the melted butter and sprinkle with the pretzel/Kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 – 12 minutes. Brush with remaining melted butter before serving. Serve warm.

Ingredients for the Cheese Sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (not packaged pre-shredded cheese—shred your own)
• Kosher salt

Directions for the Cheese Sauce:

1. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.
2. Slowly whisk in the milk until no lumps of flour remain.  Stirring constantly, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the shredded cheese until all of the cheese has melted.  Add a pinch of salt, if needed.  Serve warm.  Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave on medium power at 30 second intervals.

Pizza Bites

*recipe from Pennies on a Platter

These were good and ridiculously easy to make.  I would make them again, but make my dough thinner and somehow close them up tighter because I lost a lot of cheese in the baking process.
Ingredients:

• pizza crust dough (I used Trader Joe's pre-made garlic and herb dough and it was good.  Next time I think I'll try their plain dough though)
• mozzarella cheese, about 20 cubed pieces
• sliced pepperoni
• pizza sauce for dipping
• olive oil
• Parmesan cheese 
• Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.  
2. Lightly grease a 9-inch cookie sheet or cake pan.  
3. Divide the pizza dough into roughly 20 equal-sized pieces.  
4. Take one of the dough pieces and press in a cube of cheese and two slices of pepperoni. (I made some just cheese too—You could add any ingredients you like on pizza!) Pull the edges of the dough down around the filling and seal.  (Make sure your seal is tight!  I had a lot of cheese ooze out!)
5. Place in the pan, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining dough. 
6. Lightly brush the tops of the dough with olive oil. (Or spray the olive oil with your Misto like me!)
7. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature, with dipping sauce if desired.

 Dessert...

Caramel Popcorn Balls

*recipe from Gracious Rain
What is a movie night without popcorn, right?  I decided to have my popcorn for dessert this time.  These popcorn balls were tasty but SUPER sugary!  Also, the popcorn got soft from the caramel.  I am not sure if that was how it was supposed to be or if I did something wrong.  I still ate the whole thing anyway.  It tasted good—I just had to brush my teeth afterward :) 
Ingredients:
(makes 7 balls)

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• Large bowl of popcorn (about 3-4 quarts)
• Lollipop Sticks

Directions:

Add caption

1. Heat brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt to a simmer.
2. Boil rapidly for 2 minutes.
3. Pour over popcorn and stir until all the popcorn is covered.
4. Allow to rest until cool enough to handle.
5. Cover hands with sandwich bags and form popcorn mixture into balls.  (I put mine on lollipop sticks so they wouldn't be so messy to eat)
6. Cool completely.