Our Vegan / Vegetarian Dinner Party

The other night we had a dinner party with friends and the dinner menu was mostly vegan and or vegetarian. We started off the night with homemade hummus and crackers. The herbed sesame crackers were made by my daughter and myself.   

My son was in charge of drinks. He decided to create a lovely summery fruit punch which consisted of raspberry juice and tonic water with slices of oranges. It was a delicate flavour with a bit of zing.   

The main was marinated tofu burgers with vegan buns. Flavourful and very, very tasty. I will post the recipe tomorrow. They were dressed with red onion, tomatoes, pickles, and...

pineapple relish. Last week I posted about the cookbook, Haute Dog and shared a recipe from the book which was the pineapple relish. I decided that the relish would be perfect with the tofu burgers. It complimented everything nicely and was a big hit. 

The side was a salad. It is hard to believe that underneath all those veggies there were tender greens and spinach. A homemade mustard vinaigrette was the accompanying   salad dressing.   

Dessert was a light fruit salad. Fresh juicy berries and tart plums lightly tossed in coconut sugar. Something  to refresh the palate.

Hope everyone had a good long weekend. It is Wednesday, the middle of the week, and the to do list keeps growing. - JD 

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