Summer is not over, and Labor Day is heading our way.
It’s the last hoorah weekend before we start thinking of Pumpkin Spice everything. Gather your friends and family together and grill up an American favorite — hot dogs (bet you thought I was going to say hamburgers).
I am partial to the all-beef franks made by either Hebrew National or Nathan’s. They always seem to take me back to my youth. Hanging out on South Beach with a group of 20 or so people rocking out to Fleetwood Mac, Devo, Oingo Boingo, Billy Joel or Elton John.
We would lug our grills on the beach and spend the whole day grilling hot dogs and drinking beer. Ahhh the good ole’ days!
Now as a full-fledged adult (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) I love hitting the backyard grill and making some hot dogs that take me back to those days.
I love grilling a classic dog, topping it with relish, mustard and onions or maybe a classic chili dog topped with lots of cheese, jalapenos and onions.
I also enjoy being a bit creative and I’ll try a recipe someone else has offered. An easy one is using Pillsbury crescent-roll dough to make pigs in a blanket. I just place a hot dog in the middle of the dough along with some cheddar cheese, onions and small cubed pieces of ham and roll it up.
The ends of the hot dogs will stick out, but as long as all the other stuff stays inside the dough, it’s good. Cook these on a grill or in the oven for the time specified on the dough wrapper or, if you’re grilling them, until they are puffy and golden brown.
For this next dog, I can’t recall where I found this recipe, and it may same a little weird, but I find it quite tasty. I’ll usually wait until I have leftover homemade loaded mashed potatoes (meaning it has cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives and bacon pieces in it) and set that aside. Grill or prepare the hot dogs for a few minutes until they are plump.
Set the oven to 375 degrees and place the hot dogs on a tray lined with parchment paper. Slice each dog lengthwise, but don’t cut all the way through to the bottom. Open and stuff each dog with some mashed potato. Top with cheese and bacon bits and cook for about 15 minutes.
Another favorite hot dog treat is wrapping the hotdog in bacon and grilling them until the bacon is crispy. Top with grilled onions or sauerkraut (or both), serve that with an ice-cold beer of choice, and bon appetite.
So go out and celebrate the final dog days of summer with your favorite hot-dog recipe and see what childhood memories pop up.