Lisin's Profile

Bryan Voltaggio is the older brother... he's running a SUPER successful restaurant outside of DC. Seriously, his "Table 21" in kitchen tasting table seats 8 people and is booked through next year, so I'm thinking it would probably cost him money to be on the show since so many people book either Table 21 or the tasting room to get to see him (and eat his amazing food) If people are willing to pony up $120 per person (not including wine) to eat at that table I'm sure they'd be at least a little miffed if he wasn't in attendance... In theory, he's poised to net somewhere near $350,000 just in that 8 person table alone in the next year... not to mention the whole rest of the place which is always packed, and he was nominated for a James Beard award this year... he kinda doesn't need Top Chef.

I have a pair of these http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=15009&9gtype=search&9gkw=hotheads%20oven%20mitts&9gad=4696328217&gclid=CKjS8J6b0qACFUFM5QodqzK20A and I really like them, they're small, they grip well and I can throw them in the dishwasher if they get anything on them.

kushkush - I've made this recipe more times than I care to admit as well, and I have to tell you, I make it all on the surface of my stove and one cutting board that's about the size of a sheet pan... I rest the sheet pans I use on my sink cross wise (one one way and then another on top of it the other way) the bites are small enough that the dough doesn't get squashed. You can get all the bites onto 2 large sheet pans and cook them both at the same time, and yes, it is indeed relatively easy. I mix the dough in a bowl and work it together in the same bowl, then I turn it out onto the cutting board, wash out the bowl and put the dough back in it to let the it rise... I don't even roll them into strips, I just divide the dough into 8 even pieces, then divide each of those pieces into 8 (you could make them smaller if you wanted) balls and boil those.

prometheanne - I had this problem once using another recipe which called for less water and the same amount of soda... my guess, you're not using a large enough pan. Try a 10 - 12 inch sauté pan with about 2 inches of water in it, that should help.

This is one of my favorite recipes ever, it's super simple, and fool proof, makes a TON of pretzel balls, and I only have to wash a bowl a pan and cookie sheets. One other note, Parchment paper is your friend... I once ran out and didn't use any, all my balls stuck :(