Haute Dogs

Hot dogs were and still are reserved for fairgrounds and baseball games However, restaurants and cafés becoming specialized in one menu item motifs seems to be the trend.   

It is an all American classic that has endured over the years to include street vendors and backyard barbeques. Whether you like a traditional hot dog wiener, a smokie, a sausage or a bratwurst; how you dress your dog says something about your personality and your environment and ultimately where you live. Haute Dogs are American classics, Modern America, South and Central America and are European, African and Asian. Hot dogs are global. This book has every hot dog possibly imaginable... including a waffle dog? 

Yes, a waffle dog for breakfast or brunch. Oooh fancy dipping that into maple syrup! Which now I have an idea for a breakfast dog... A bun, toasted, filled with a sausage, some grated cheese, salsa and scrabbled egg on top. Or ditch the salsa and add maple syrup because maple syrup is fantastic with everything!  

My favourite is the vegan or vegetarian dogs. Plenty of options to get your veg on! 

Cooking methods vary from open flame, grill or boil, flat top or pan fry, deep fry, simmer or boil, roast, roller, steam, barbeque or smoke. This cookbook has it covered and smothered in anything your taste buds can imagine. Unique and delicious for something so basic and well known is how I would sum up this cookbook. Plenty of recipes for condiments, sauces and toppings. The one that stood out was the pineapple relish. Which I have to make because this would be great on burgers too.

Pineapple Relish

-------------------------------------------

Makes about 1 cup

3/4 cup pineapple, fresh and finely chopped or from 1 can crushed

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients. Store in a airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Here in E-town there is a vendor called Fat Franks which offers a variety of hot dogs. I usually opt for the jumbo vegetarian dog which is a jumbo soy veggie dog. However this time I gave the turkey jumbo dog a try because it was low in fat and sodium. I loaded it with ketchup, mustard, onions, zesty relish, if only I had pineapple relish instead, hot banana peppers and two pickles. It was delicious! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a good start to the week. Go get your Haute Dog on!  - JD 

   

Korean Barbeque Sauce

By the start of the weekend it was decided that steak would be the Sunday Roast dinner. I decided that Korean Barbeque would be the flavour. Remembering I had a bottle tucked away, for just incase purposes, I used it because I wanted to get the steaks marinating straight away. Plus I was low on soy sauce.  

I have used this Korean Barbeque sauce before when pinched for time. It is fairly good and the sodium isn't too bad. There is a lot of salt... and sugar out there in products so read the labels and take the lowest whenever possible. I recommend this one if you are pressed for time however I will include a Korean Barbeque Sauce recipe if you would rather try that.  

Since the steaks were on the small side I managed to fit them all into this marinating container. The steaks must have marinated for almost 2 days. Flipping the container every so often.   

The marinating container is from Tupperware. I bought it years ago. There are these little pyramid like nibs on the top and bottom of both sides to ensure flavour flow and even marinating.

The steaks were baked in a pre-heated 400ºF oven for 30 minutes. They were baked uncovered for the first 15 minutes and for the remaining 15 minutes of the baking time I had placed aluminium foil over the baking dish. To avoid the steaks from drying out and  to seal in most of the flavour and juices. 

Even though I did not make my own Korean Barbeque sauce, which is fine. Sometimes there are just more important things that need to be done. I will include this recipe.


Korean Barbeque Sauce
------------------------------------ 
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 - 3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chile- garlic sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
some ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

Stir the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, chile-garlic sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and black pepper together in a saucepan; bring to a boil.

Whisk cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until the cornstarch dissolves; pour into the boiling soy sauce mixture.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the sauce has thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes. 

Notes: For a spicier sauce use ground fresh chili paste. Try using coconut sugar. If you do not have rice wine vinegar then use white vinegar or even a malt vinegar it may change the taste slightly however sometimes adding a different ingredient in replace of another can be worth it. Try adding a tablespoon of minced or diced shallots.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD   

My Week In Food

Spaghetti Bolognese is quick and simple. Even better when spices inspire you all thanks to the Incredible Spice Men Cookbook. Cumin and other different spices added depth to the minced chicken. Reintroducing flavour that was welcoming change. 

Being at the Farmer's Market in the French Quarter was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Picking up some fresh local veggies and cheese is the absolute best day to me. Also indulging in a chocolate croissant and a latté from Café Bicyclette was the ultimate that rounded this weekend outing perfectly.   

New Baby Potatoes, Fresh Green Beans and Chicken Drumsticks in a homemade Barbeque Sauce became the dinner of choice. Pretty standard weekend dinner feast. My barbeque sauce had all the right elements, sweet, smoky and tangy.  

This was how I plated it. A pat of butter over the potatoes and then I grated lemon over the potatoes and the green beans. Freshness with a zing! 

You can tell the colder weather is coming because everyone felt the need for some Chili Con Carne. Again I played around with the spices. Adding lots of cumin with the chili powder. Not too hot (spicy) that filled the void. Fall is on it's way. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone! -JW 

Two Dinners

On the weekend I made chicken tandoori. Fairly simple. Lots of flavour. I baked the chicken in the oven with sliced mushrooms and sliced red peppers on top. The tomatoes were added when served. Giving this spicy dish some refreshment. 

The other night I made pork chops with a homemade barbeque sauce. Kale salad and perogies accompanied the pork. The barbeque sauce I made had the perfect balance between smokiness and sweetness. 

Tonight I am making ham fried rice with some left over saffron rice and white rice. Should be tasty! - JW 

Barbeque Sauce

For some reason I felt the need to make a sauce, barbeque sauce and it isn't even grilling season. The snow is beginning to melt however the brisk cold lingers in the air. To make my sweet... and I say sweet because I was trying to make it a general as possible... not everyone likes their barbeque sauce how I do. Heavy and rich with smokey flavour. To make this sauce and feel free to tweak the ingredients to your liking.

1/2 cup to 1 cup ketchup, tomato paste or tomato purée, I used ketchup

1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon or 2 of paprika, the smoker the better

2 tablespoons brown sugar, the darker the better

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

pinch of salt
* If the sauce is too thick just add a bit of water until you get it to your desired consistency.  

Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan and mix together. Turn the stove on to medium high heat. Heat to boil and then remove from heat.  

You can also change up the ingredients by adding honey, maple syrup, molasses, herbs or seasonings, chili powder, curry paste, garlic or finely chopped onions. - JW