Hot Dog!

This isn't about Stella. Though on some of our warmer days I do hold out a stick, which she will grab with her mouth, and I'll say to the dude, "look, hot dog on a stick!" We crack ourselves up around here. (And for the record, that dog's called Sadie.)

This is about the food. Hot dogs are my favorite summer food. It hasn't always been so; for many years I favored the burger. In the past few years, I have come to believe hot dogs may be the perfect summer food. (Okay, lobster is the perfect summer food, but hot dogs do in a pinch.) Maybe it's because I discovered potato rolls. Though, as a New Englander, I do wish they were top split.

If you ate a hot dog every other day between Memorial Day and Labor Day--and why wouldn't you?--oh wait, will you get bored of slathering your dog in your favorite condiment? Then you would need 50 hot dog recipes to get through summer.

I've been getting Food Network Magazine and each issue includes a pull-out booklet containing fifty (50) recipes on a theme, like 50 pizza recipes or 50 hamburgers. Where is the love for the hot dog? Right here, bitches.

1. Fried dogs: Score your dogs. Melt some butter in a frying pan, fry up your dogs for 8 minutes or so. With three minutes remaining, add your top split bun to the buttery pan. Grill* the bun on both sides. You could put condiments on this, but then you couldn't taste the butter.
2. Beer Wholesaler's Daughter: bring a (good) beer or two to the boil in a medium sauce pot. Boil your scored dogs for 5-6 minutes. Serve in a top-split roll with (American) piccalilli (your beer wholesaler's daughter is from New England).
3. You probably don't need a recipe to grill a dog, but Bobby Flay has one, with homemade pickle relish.
4. He grills a Nacho Dog too.
5. His Texas dog includes coleslaw and barbecue sauce.
6. Bobby also brings you the New York Dog.
7. Rachael Ray's Chicago Dog Salad is a favorite around here for the speed and ease of prep. It's a Chicago dog without the bun. Very flavorful.
8. Of course, you could take Chicago Dog Salad, leave the dogs whole and stick it all in a bun.
9. Or you could use Martha Stewart's recipe for a Chicago Dog.
10. Or you could go to this website dedicated to the art of the perfect Chicago dog.
11. Rachael Ray's Devilish Chili Dog recipe is not as spicy as the name suggests. We first became addicted to these when we were living with my cousin.
12. Here's a Ray we haven't tried, Mac and Cheese Dog Casserole. Though I did once slice hot dogs into my mothers fancy-pants mac and cheese recipe when I lived in New York because my boyfriend at the time thought you needed "protein" in mac and cheese. Silly.
13. Rachael Ray's Chili Dog Bacon Cheeseburgers. The dude doesn't like most of Rachael's burger recipes. They do tend to be epic. I sneaked this one on the table and he loved it, even though it sounds excessive. I mean, hot dog and hamburger? Yes, please! (If it seems like Rachael is over represented, I will cop to using her 365 cookbook almost daily. But not the burger recipes.)
14. Paula Deen makes her a chili dog.
15. And Tyler Florence knows a good thing about chili dogs too.
16. I'm Too Tired to Make Dinner: Open a can of baked beans and put them in a saucepan. Slice your hot dogs (or not if you're that tired) into the beans. Heat until edible. Serve with rinsed cherry tomatoes and B&M brown bread, if available, toasted or grilled and spread with butter.
17. Crescent Cheese Dogs. Another one from my childhood. But not as good as I remember.
18. Pigs in a Kimono. A more sophisticated version of the crescent dog, from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC).
19. Hoisin Glazed Dogs. We're looking forward to this one this summer. (NHDSC)
20. If you make sausage with peppers and onions, why not use caramelized onions and peppers on a regular dog?
21. Hot dog + corn relish. Mmmm. Corn relish.
22. Hot dog + onion relish. Mmmm. Onion relish. My favorite Vidalia onion relish is available here.
23. Dick's dog. My dad always puts celery salt on his dogs. You don't have to call it "Dick's dog" if that thought freaks you out. And it does me.
24. Hot dog + jalapeño + cole slaw. Heat it up and cool it down!
25. Pizza dog= hot dog + marinara + shredded mozzarella.
26. Pizza supreme dog = hot dog + marinara + shredded mozzarella + green peppers + onions + black olives + pepperoni
27. Some suggestions from Pinks, Los Angeles hot dog purveyors to the stars: Bacon Burrito Dog (Big flour tortilla wrapped around two hot dogs, cheese, bacon, chili, and onions.)
28. The Today Show Dog (two hot dogs in one bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese, and guacamole)
29. The Hollywood Walk of Fame Dog (coleslaw and chopped tomatoes)
30. Martha Stewart Dog (relish, onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut, and sour cream)
31. Lord of the Rings Dog (barbecue sauce and onion rings)
32. New York Dog with spicy red onions (my personal favorite, well, tied with LotR)
33. Mushroom Swiss Dog (grilled mushrooms, Swiss, and mayo)
34. And speaking of mayonnaise, a Flo's dog requires mayo, a steamed dog, and Flo's relish (though you could probably substitute Branston pickle; Flo's has more onion and is better)
35. And speaking of Martha Stewart (#30), she'll show you how to make Worms in Dirt.
36. Or a Ditch Dog, which unites macaroni and cheese with a hot dog on a bun.
37. Or make a baked corn dog.
38. Corn Dog Muffins, now that's an idea, though not Martha's.
39. Monte Cristo hot dog. You know we have a bumper crop of strawberry jam around these parts.
40. Rhode Islanders have a hot dog style. Who knew?
41. And Guadalajara (which should probably be under Pinks)
42. Baltimoreans like to wrap their dogs in bologna, go figure.
43. You can approximate a Hawaiian dog--from Hanks Haute Dogs--with pineapple relish, passion fruit mustard, and sweet Maui onions.
44. Tucson's Sonoran pairs the humble hot dog with bacon, mayo, mustard, ketchup, pinto beans, cheese, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, jalapeños, and jalapeño salsa, on a bolillo.
45. Venezuelan Dog, onion, cabbage, and potato chips. Interesting. Maybe save that for the end of the summer...when I'm feeling adventurous.
46. Colombian Hot Dogs start with a boiled dog then top it with cole slaw, pineapple sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and potato chips. I bet these sweet Hawaiian onion chips would work nicely. You can see the geographic relationship between these South American countries in their approach to hot dogs.
47. All these examples with cole slaw on hot dogs, has me thinking why not potato salad? The potato and egg salad at my local Superfresh would be awesome. (It's like deviled egg potato salad.)
48. Homewrecker. Start by deep frying a one pound all beef wiener. Place it in a bun. Add a few sliced pickled jalapeños. Top with Habanero sauce (you might have to watch the video--link plays with sound--to decipher that). Top with cole slaw, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. (Not sure but there may be chili on that too.) Or you could just go to West Virginia to get one. Or they'll send one to you.
49. Big Daddy used to cook at one of my former places of employment, now you can make his stuffed dogs.
50. And, especially for our friend Spinster Stitcher, Po Dogs in Seattle offers the Morning Glory Dog, a steamed-then-fried dog topped with scrambled eggs, Tillamook Cheddar, and pepper bacon. Check out their menu for more crazy suggestions.

In researching this post, I came across this eye-popping group of wackadoo hot dogs at Women's Day. The dude wants to try Le Pogo et Frites and Chinese Hot Dogs. And maybe we will.

Tonight on Food Network, Bobby Flay's Throwdown features hot dogs.

And you? How do you eat a hot dog?

* In American English, grilling can mean griddling--or cooking on a plancha--(as in grilled cheese) in addition to cooking over coals in a Weber.