Soften ice cream by leaving at room temperature for 10 minutes. Crush the nutty bars with your hands while they are still in their wrapper. Once softened, combine ice cream and milk in blender until a good milkshake consistency is achieved. Mix in crushed nutty bars and serve immediately.
The dish: Nutty Bars are the greatest things ever, period.
Prepare toast according to package instructions. Dice tomatoes and basil finely and blend together, taking care not to over mix. Pile tomatoes on toast and drizzle with vinegar, serve immediately.
The dish: It's pretty scary to look in someones eyes and see pure hate. It's even scarier when that person is a friend you've known most of your life; scarier still when the occasion is his wedding. Yet this happened a few weeks back, and I feel nothing but proud of my comrade. You see, the good friend is a surgeon who specializes in oncology, practicing at the prestigious Fox Chase Cancer Center. I've never seen him as happy as when he was standing next to his beautiful wife, yet when the conversation turned to work he spoke with great admiration for the doctors who have taught him, compassion for the patients he's helped, and disdain for the ugly pile of cells he pulls out of the folks on the operating table beneath him. Having lost his father at a young age to cancer he has his reasons to dislike the disease, but has channeled it using his knowledge and dedication in a way that inspires awe. Like all great doctors, I'm amazed by them and yet hope to never have the occasion to be their patient. Doing things like not smoking and using sunscreen are obvious ways to keep cancer at bay, but there's much more we can do. Eating tomatoes gives our bodies lycopene, which some studies have shown will slow the growth of certain types of cancer. I can't think of a better way to get my dose of lycopene than the festival of tomatoes that is bruschetta. I would have used fresh bread but this batch was made at the last minute using some of my sister's bumper crop (you have a green thumb- you're adopted) and we had some Hannaford garlic toast Texas style on hand. It was delicious and our bodies were better off for the offering.
Dice the cucumbers into bite sized pieces. Stir the lemon juice into the yogurt until well blended. Pour dressing over cucumbers, add parsley and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt.
The dish: Growing up in suburbia has its advantages: good schools, big houses and bigger yards. The one main drawback is the mid-teen realization that there's nothing to do. Like many other kids in my town, I spent countless hours at the Monroe Diner nursing my chocolate milk and gravy fries for as long as I could before the waitresses would kick us out or it would be curfew time. On any given weekend night 2/3 of the school would be piled into booths, hanging out and complaining that there was nothing to do. For all of the whining I did at the time I look back fondly on those years and realize that there's not much to do anywhere if you take that attitude. All those hours spent at the "teenage wasteland" that was the diner helped formed friendships that are still active to this day and it also opened my eyes to Greek cuisine. Pairing cucumber and yogurt together is a no-brainer as it is the basis for gyro sauce (yeah, I'm not even gonna try to spell it for real- too many consonants). John Lennon said that "life is what happens while you're busy making other plans" but for kids growing up in suburbia life is frequently what happens while you're complaining that there's nothing to do.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Top with sauteed kale and serve.
The dish: I just read an article on how the American diet has shifted from being spring based, leafy greens and such, to being autumn based, seeds and oils from them. The article contended that we evolved by naturally packing on a few pounds in the fall months in anticipation of the coming winter. The shift is because of individual tastes and preferences, but mostly has to do about money. Oils are more stable and last much longer than leafy greens, so food manufacturers and retailers looking to reduce spoilage opt for them. The result is predictable; we're all getting fat. We had some kale leftover from our last run to the farmer's market, so this dinner was a lay up. The combination of the whole wheat pasta and the kale was tasty and fulfilling, and it was good to give our bodies a nice spring meal when the days are getting shorter and the leaves are beginning to turn.
Spread bottom half of bread with butter, stack ham and cheese. Cut in half to serve.
The dish: There are few spots on earth where you feel as faultless and perfect as when you're standing in the sight of your grandparents. When your age can be counted on your fingers this becomes especially true. I bring this up because today was my paternal grandmother's funeral. My father gave the best eulogy I've ever heard and it really got me thinking about my nan as a person. Her own mother died when she was just a young child and she and her sister were raised by her uncle (another exceptional person; you'll hear more about him when I make something with honey). The obstacles my grandmother had to overcome never once diminished her spirit and her unwavering faith was the foundation of her remarkable life. She was valedictorian of her high school class and attended the college of New Rochelle on full scholarship (women in the 30s going to college? In the shadow of the 19th amendment, most were amazed they could just vote). She married my grandfather and raised 4 boys, building a family that's continually growing. 13 years ago she lost her husband of over 50 years and still remained strong, thriving in the role as the leader of the family. Her reward for such a rich and long life was a terrible disease that slowly robbed her mind from her, and yet her faith remained with her to the end. All of this of course, takes a back seat to the memories my younger self holds of the treat of going to nanny and poppy's house. My grandparents did a great job of making sure their home was always stocked with an endless variety of snacks; everything from chocolate milk, to fresh cold cuts to any type of Entenmann's cake you could imagine. One of my favorite treats was a ham and cheese sandwich nan would make where she would spread the bread with butter that was soft from sitting at room temperature. Those early memories were so great that they've left me with not only a fondness of food, but a feeling as to how a kitchen should look; nan too had a red room. All of the goodies my grandmother would give me were prepared in her red kitchen and it always seemed so sharp that when it came time to remodel ours the choice was obvious what color it had to be. It was great having nan visit our home because for someone who was always so svelte she had a great appetite and loved to try new things (that and more than anyone else in our family she loved our cat, Digit). It was great to fix nan a treat from my red kitchen, thinking back on how our roles were reversed from years earlier. In honor of nan, Kim signed us up for a walk to benefit an Alzheimer's association and as I get more information I'll be posting it as comments to this entry. If you'd like to donate or to participate, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place salmon fillets in casserole dish and cover with bbq sauce. Bake for 15 minutes or until desired doneness is reached.
The dish: I was at a party recently and a friend of mine that I've known since high school called me a "car geek". I guess the label holds true as I've always had a fondness of our four wheeled friends and spent a large chunk of my life wanting to design them (that dream of course died when I realized I was too dumb to earn an engineering degree). It's not surprising that one of my all time favorite jobs was driving for a huge auto auction. This was the largest dealer to dealer auto auction on the east coast and every Wednesday we'd sell thousands of cars to dealers that came in from as far away as California. There were seven auction blocks that were ranked in order of the quality of the cars sold; lane one had Porsches and BMWs, lane seven had Pintos. Since it was a one day a week job (I had two others at the time) we had a lot of retirees driving for us. It was explained to me that the older gents were assigned to the better lanes because they might not be able to handle some of the trickier cars that came through the bottom lanes (I drove a car that exploded once, but that's a different story). Naturally, I was a lane seven driver. My job was to hop in a car parked in our area of the massive auction's property, drive it to the block to be sold, drive it back to our area, park it, and hop in the next car to repeat the process all over again. I would drive about 100 cars a day which was a rush for a car geek like myself. One Tuesday a month we hosted the Ford, Mercury, Lincoln sale where every single car returned from a lease or a rental company was sold on our property. There weren't as many of us working on FML Tuesdays and it wasn't uncommon for your cars to be parked on a pretty remote corner of the massive lot. One such morning the auction van dropped me off in front of my row of cars at the absolute far reach of the yard, way out of sight or sound of anyone. We started pretty early and I was shot so I drove through the first part of my shift on auto-pilot. I was a few hours into it when I had a revelation and looked at the line of cars I had already driven, and then turned and looked at what I would drive for the rest of my day. I was so tired that I hadn't noticed that I already navigated 25 or so of the absolutely identical Ford Taurus through the auction block. White, with tan cloth interior, alloy wheels, the premium sound system (which back then meant a CD player) and just feet shy of 30,000 miles. I looked at the long line of them that vanished into the horizon and felt like I was trapped in the twilight zone. There was no one around for miles; just me and 100 or so of the identical mid sized sedan. I felt a little freaked and thought about asking my boss to be switched, but the only way I could get to him was to hop in a white Taurus, so I decided to just rough it out and try not to think about it. I bring this up only because posting salmon recipes one right after the other has a slightly similar effect on me. Although they're all different, they all basically start with the same ingredient and it does tend to feel the same when writing about them. At least at the base of the recipe is a fish that I enjoy; now if I could only say the same of the early 90s Taurus.
Cook whole zucchinis in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Rinse under cold water until they are chilled enough to handle. Using a vegetable peeler, slice strips of zucchini until you reach the seeded center. Combine zucchini strips, nuts and cheese in large bowl. Whisk together olive oil and vinegar and pour over salad, toss to coat. Season with fresh pepper and serve chilled.
The dish: If you live in the sunny Mid-Hudson Valley, one sure way to know that the summer is right at the halfway mark is to look for the Orange County Fair to come to town. The OC fair combines the elements of an old time farm fair with modern amusements and enough of a sleazy element to keep things interesting. I'm a regular visitor and long about March I start looking forward to my annual day of eating fried foods and hanging upside down on a ride that dubs as a truck trailer. After I've eaten my annual allowance of trans fats and my stomach can't take anymore of giving gravity the finger, I know it's time to settle down for some games on the midway. The best and fairest of the amusements is a game called "Jone's I Got It", or "bingo with a bounce" if you're a regular. The concept is pretty simple; 10-25 players sit on stools about 3 feet away from bins that have grids of holes. In front of the players is a reservoir filled with little rubber balls (think the kind in the red vending machines in the front of the supermarket that you'd beg your mom for and then throw once and realize it was like watching your allowance bounce down the street) and when the announcer calls it, you have to toss the balls into the bin ahead of you and be the first to get 5 in a row. There's really no skill to it and it's only $.50 a game, so it's a great way to spend some time. We usually play long enough to win at least a few games, which means we can visit the illustrious Jone's prize table. They do a good job of making the junky prizes seem high end, keeping the table surrounded by a velvet rope and a having a prize official in a Jone's polo shirt to help you pick out your loot. We were on a pretty good streak this year and got to choose from the second tier of prizes. I saw the plain glass serving tray pictured above and knew I had to have it (really, I didn't just scoop the zucchini salad onto my counter). It was a little awkward carrying a platter around the fair while everyone else had stuffed bears and such, but it was worth the effort. I took it home and after scrubbing the fair funk off it (it was sealed in a package, but still) realized what a great tray I had. I do my best to keep things in a healthy rotation around here, but I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it in the future. Let's just hope that in 2010 I'm really lucky and can get that lighted picture of the New York skyline I've been eyeing.
Combine lobster meat (you can use our old friend crab stick in this recipe, but the real thing is such a nice treat) celery, mayo and adobo to taste in a large bowl. Pile onto lettuce placed on the rolls.
The dish: Not too long ago, after a particularly rough week for both of us, Kim and I decided we needed a brief break from everything. Not wanting to stray too far from home, we wound up in Albany to poke around the capital and check out the World Trade Center exhibit at the New York State Museum. If you haven't been, then go. The whole museum is great, but the WTC display is quite moving. The rest of the Empire State Plaza has quite a bit to see as well. Walking along the reflecting pools at the base of the large marble buildings, it's easy to get the feeling that you're in a mini-DC (another awesome place to check out). We killed a whole day exploring and as the sun began to set, darkening the sky behind the shillouette of The Egg, we decided to find somewhere to eat. We wound up in a place that was really unremarkable in every way, but figured any grub was good grub when you're starved and away from home. They advertised their "delicious" lobster roll, but I was a little reluctant to lay out too much cash for a sandwich in a dive. Kim convinced me to indulge, and the damn thing turned out to be great. Shortly after we got home somebody turned me on to 3 Kids Corp, and excited about the new source of cheap lobster and wanting to re-create our fun meal on our weekend away, I made this sandwich. It turned out great, but I think it tastes even better if you're wearing an I heart Albany t-shirt.
Prepare bagel; you can use fresh or frozen (I used Ray's frozen, which really are the best), toasted or not. Spread cream cheese on bottom half of bagel, top with tomato slices and vinegar to taste.
The dish: If you look at a map of the earth you'll notice that Japan is pretty much all the way to the right and California is way to the left. The land of the rising sun is so named because they're the first on the globe to get drenched in the fresh sunlight building from the east (this is also the reason why on New Year's Eve while we're still chilling the bubbly and wrapping the pigs in blankets, Dick Clark is cutting to shots of tired Asians that look like they've been partying awhile). By contrast, the folks in the Golden State are the last ones to roll out of bed in the morning. For this reason, through my admittedly limited research, I've come to the conclusion that Californians are more prone to an earlier and healthier lifestyle. They have no choice but to be early risers; the rest of the planet is already awake and going strong. This phenomenon can be clearly seen on the greatest show of all time, Melrose Place (the original of course, the new one premiered last night so it's too soon to tell). Although their lifestyles may not be psychologically healthy, all the young residents of LA wake early and always eat breakfast. Kim and I were watching some older re-runs of the show recently and were having fun noticing how not only does everyone always eat three squares, but those meals consist of lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. On one such episode, Dr. Peter Burns is having an early meeting with his colleague Dr. Michael Mancini, while fixing himself some breakfast in the break room of their posh office. Burns takes a cut bagel and spreads it with cream cheese and then piles on some fresh tomato slices and finishes it with some salt and pepper. I basically stole the good Dr's recipe, save the vinegar difference, but I did give him props naming it after him. Now that tomatoes are in full bloom, this is a great way to start your day like the residents of 4616 Melrose do, minus the waking up next to your ex/in-law/friend/friend's other, etc.
Combine baby food and prepared bbq sauce. Brush liberally on all sides of turkey and grill until done.
The dish: If you believe the theory of birth order, then Kim and I are doomed. A relationship of the two last born children will spiral out of control as it will seem like no one is in charge, and even the youngest can only take chaos for so long (would it be a bad time to mention that we had zebra cakes for dinner tonight?). I bring this up only because being the youngest child means that you grow up with limited experience in matters like diapers and baby food. I've never had to feed a younger sibling baby food who promptly spit it up or threw it on the floor, so it doesn't mean much more to me than just being that generic mush in the little jar. I wanted to try something new and yet easy with traditional bbq sauce, so I figured I'd give this a try. It gave a really great taste without adding too much artificial flavor or sweetness. Just for kicks I still cut my meat into little pieces and pretended my fork was a locomotive heading toward the tunnel of my mouth, but I do that at least two nights a week, so I don't think there's much of a connection.
Rub tuna in seeds, coating all sides evenly. Heat olive oil over high flame for 3 minutes or until very hot. Saute tuna, cooking each side for three minutes, turning once. Remove from pan and serve immediately, slicing into thin strips on the bias.
The dish: In computer programing there's an old saying, gigo, or, garbage in, garbage out. That basic premise holds true in so many different areas of life that it's worth mentioning here. One of the basic steps to good cooking is to start off with quality ingredients. Eating a dish of rare tuna is highly dependent upon starting off with a pretty good grade of fish. I recently found a wholesaler that has some of the best frozen fish I've had at any price, and he's cheap. The tuna comes ready to eat and is sushi grade so eating it a little rare is no problem at all. I stocked my freezer full of fillets of salmon (who da thunk it?) and tuna. When they're ready to eat you can have a healthy a tasty dinner in a matter of minutes. If you're local to the orange county area, I encourage you to stop by 3 Kids corp and fill your freezer a little for the busy fall months ahead.
Place everything but milk in blender and begin to pulse. Slowly add milk and continue pulsing until you have a thick smoothie consistency.
The dish: I met Kim the Friday night before a Saturday St. Patrick's day. We hit it off pretty well and wanted to hang out again, but both had plans for the next day; she was going to a math conference and I was going to New York to drink green beer (telling?). We made plans to meet Sunday for lunch. In the beginning of a relationship when you know so little about someone, where they pick to eat can be pretty telling. I wasn't sure what to expect but was shocked when I met her out and she asked "do you like sandwiches". Turns out she wanted to take advantage of some unseasonably warm March weather and grab a quick lunch and go for a hike. The first sandwich shop we went to was closed on Sundays, so we ventured to the next. We wound up at Rocket Wraps (get a website people!!), where we had some kind of rolled up sandwich and smoothies. To this day, whenever Kim can find a reason to go there, she returns and she always has a peanut butter banana smoothie. We had some bananas that needed to be used and a new appliance to play with, so we came to the mutual conclusion that we should try to duplicate Rocket Wrap's concoction. I liked it, but really don't have the intimate knowledge of the real thing that Kim does, but she loved it. It was a perfect treat on a warm day and sharing the smoothie in our red kitchen brought back good memories of enjoying one together when we barely knew one another on that sunny day in March.
Cook pasta according to package directions. In a swirl of olive oil, saute onion over a medium high flame for 3 minutes, add zucchini and pepper flakes, reduce flame to medium, stirring occasionally. After about 7 minutes add a few splashes of vinegar. Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to the zucchini, tossing to coat, adding parsley and more vinegar as needed. Serve immediately with grated cheese on top.
The dish: As Yogi Berra said, "it's like deja vu all over again". At first glance, it might look your faithful blogger hit the post button one too many times, but I beg you to read closer. If these two dishes were served in succession, I think you'd be amazed at how different they wind up tasting just by altering a few basic things. Although they were cooked as two different meals (really, look the pasta is different) this could have been a planned-over. Simply serve warm for dinner and then you've got a great cold lunch for the next day. Between the whole grain pasta and the bulk of the zucchini, you'll be amazed at how far this dish goes, which makes it easy on the wallet. Saving a few bucks in these tight times is important for all of us because as Yogi also said, "a nickel just isn't worth a dime anymore".
Cook pasta according to directions on package. About 2 minutes before finished, throw the zucchini in the pot and allow to cook until just tender. Rinse under cold water and allow to cool. Stir in good quality balsamic vinegar (I'm using some Private Harvest I got from Marshall's and it's the best I've ever had) and parsley. Refrigerate until served.
The dish: One of the original goals of starting this blog was to improve my camera skills. In addition to certain basic staging and lighting techniques, I've learned the most important rule in successful amateur digital photography: take lots of pictures. The finished product that ends up on this page (btw, if you click the above picture it takes you to a jumbo version of it) is the best of many out of focus and poorly lit attempts. I've begun a snap fish page to showcase some of the not ready for prime time shots. Feel free to check them out and let me know if you think I picked the best ones.
In 2 swirls of oil, heat the zucchini over a medium flame until slightly tender. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
The dish: My in-laws live in a rural town that makes most of Norman Rockwell's paintings seem downright urban. It's the type of town with one store and no traffic lights, where everybody knows everyone and you can comfortably leave your doors unlocked fifty weeks of the year. When the townsfolk are are reaching for their keys when they enter their homes, you can be sure of one thing; it's zucchini season. Being that the population density is about 1 person per square mile, pretty much everyone has an active garden and zucchini is easy to grow, yields a bit and apparently isn't too popular for dinner. Under the guise of being kind-hearted, folks will leave squash in their neighbors cars and foyers, often to be found by people with their own harvest surplus. I'd love to have such problems, as zucchini is one of my favorites, but when I left my door open all that happened was that my stereo got stolen (well, not really, but I didn't get any squash either, dammit). Fortunately, Kim visited her mother recently and returned home with a zucchini the size of my leg. Between that and the good folks from our favorite farm, we've had a bit of squash to work through. If you're getting tired of reading about it, then lock your doors, you're probably not the only one who feels that way.
Drizzle asparagus with a little olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness over an open flame. Cut off bottom of stalks before serving.
The dish: Every now and again I love a little vino, but I've never paid too much attention to those "wine snobs" that turn the pleasurable act of sipping a glass of Cabernet into a chore full of using big words and making funny faces, and worst of all, ultimately spitting out the drink. I feel I should let them know that even "bad" wine is pretty good once swallowed, but it's just too much fun to watch them act like tools. White with fish and red with beef is pretty basic stuff, but after that you get into grey area with other meats and veggies. Everyone seems to have their own opinion about what works with what, but they all pretty much agree, there is no wine to pair with asparagus. To listen to the most snobby of them, you'd think they were talking about kryptonite and superman, not Pinot Grigio and spring's favorite green stalk. I'm not even that huge a fan of asparagus and I think it gets a bum wrap. To combat this bias I suggest first grilling asparagus, as there is no more delicious preparation of the green. Don't be afraid to let it sit on the bbq a little while and get some char-color to them. While that's going, find the cheapest and lightest dry white wine (bonus if the cap screws off) you can and stick that puppy in the freezer for awhile, letting it get almost ice cold. Between the taste of the grill and the lightness of the freezing wine, the flavors work together like Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet. While this method may be looked down upon by the most dedicated students of vinology, it works and is a great treat for the warm months.
Saute mushrooms in a little olive oil over a medium flame until tender. Place cooked mushrooms and basil in food processor, pulse while pouring in heavy cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil and serve on crackers or crusty bread.
The dish: Before you say anything, I know pate has an accent on it, but I'll be damned if I can find one on my keyboard. I've mastered such things in my word processor, but when I cut and paste from there to here, the result is something of a cross between hieroglyphics and Mandarin Chinese. Just know that when I'm typing this I'm saying pate correctly in my head, even if winds up looking like it would rhyme with rate. Regardless, this was a tasty and easy way to use up a few nice mushrooms, as well as play with my relatively new food processor. I should have hit the pulse button once or twice more as this was a little chunky for pa-tay, but it was delicious no less.
Start singing stupid song repeatedly while grilling hamburger patty to desired doneness. Use yellow American cheese, shredded lettuce, finely diced white onion (not typical yellow), and dill pickles. Assemble sandwich in following order; bun, sauce, onion, patty, cheese, pickle, lettuce, bun.
The dish: When it all boils down, Ray Kroc isn't known for much else other than his persistence. Failing at a number of jobs from paper cup salesman to jazz pianist, he was a quasi-successful milkshake maker rep when he met the hamburger selling McDonald brothers. He had nothing to do with establishing the popular restaurant, but did recognize a good thing in it. Kroc inked a deal with the brothers allowing him rights to franchise their concept and began working tirelessly and sometimes ruthlessly (he's quoted as saying that if he saw his competition drowning he'd stick a hose in their mouth) at building Mickey Dee's into the largest restaurant chain on the globe. Eventually the namesake brothers asked to be bought out and return to running their own independent place. There was enough bad blood in the situation that Kroc forbade them from using their own name in conjuncture with their restaurant, and when the brothers were established Ray opened a McDonald's directly across the street from them and put them out of business. Kroc had such a relentless commitment to quality customer service that when he owned the San Diego Padres, he once apologized mid-game to the crowd for the team's "stupid" playing and refunded everyone the price of their tickets. For someone with such business acumen, he certainly didn't recognize opportunity when a Pittsburgh McDonald's owner came to him with the idea of selling a double decker burger for $.49, a full $.09 more than two individual sandwiches. Kroc wasn't keen on the idea, but did give the franchisee permission to sell the Big Mac at only one of his restaurants, and without the middle bun. After only a few days the enterprising franchisee realized two things; 1. without a double cut bun, eating the sandwich proved to be a mess and 2. the burger was a hit. Defying his bosses orders, he began selling the Big Mac with a middle bun at all 9 of his McDonald's. Normally going against Kroc would be enough to be kicked out of the McDonald's family, but the owner ushered in what would become the iconic hallmark of the McDonald's menu, and all was forgiven. The kicker of it is, that franchisee didn't even invent the sandwich. As a matter of fact, he wasn't shy about copying it, ingredient by ingredient from its original creator, Bob's Big Boy. Years later, you can't find a spot on the globe to hide from the glow of the arches, yet Big Boy is at best a smaller regional chain. Naming this take on the famous burger the "Bob Mac" wasn't done as an act of narcissism, but rather a nod to its rightful creator.
Marinate the salmon in the garlic and juice of the lemon. Cover fillet in parsley and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness.
The dish: This is a pretty simple preparation, so make sure that you use only the freshest ingredients, as they have no sauce or crust to hide under. For the longest time I was never happy with the fish I made at home, but then it dawned on me that I was buying it from a guy named Larry out of the trunk of his Impala. I switched, and now I buy it at a local produce store and it's as fresh as can be. The stuff you buy "fresh" at the supermarket has been previously frozen, which doesn't always matter, but don't expect a simple dish like this to shine using it. If you haven't already you really should start adding some salmon to your diet as it's about the best source for Omega-3s which do everything from slow cancerous growths to boost your mood. Your body needs Omega-3s and can't store them so the only way that you can be sure you have enough is to make a point to eat more fish, fatty ones like salmon in particular. If you're undecided about what to do for dinner, click on the salmon link before and pick out one of the many recipes on here that appeals to you. Your body will thank you.
Fill up your crock pot about halfway with water, place dogs in and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
The dish: There aren't many things better than spotting the familiar yellow and blue umbrella resting on the top of a Winnebago or trailer on the side of the road. Like few other things in my life, the sight conjures up a Pavlovian reflex in me where I flick on my turn signal and slow my car down so as not to kick up a cloud of dust in the undoubtedly gravel parking area. No matter where I'm headed to or coming from I ALWAYS stop and try a dog, eager to see each vendor's take on the American classic. So if you're like me, cooking dogs at home can be a bit of a challenge as the bar is set pretty high. People typically use one of three methods to cook dogs at home;
The first two don't involve any H2O, so not replicating a good dirty water dog shouldn't come as a surprise, but the third always left me scratching my chin (what's left of it after all those dogs). I use the same brand, and yet mine come out mealy and with broken skin. Then it hit me (cue clouds parting), what's the first thing your town has you do after a water main break? You boil your water to make sure it's safe to drink. Obviously, if boiling water makes it clean, using it to cook a perfect dirty water dog makes about as much sense as grilling or frying them. The guy (or gal, as in the case of Nick's Hot Dogs, best in New Windsor/ Newburgh area) under that yellow and blue umbrella doesn't have a pot of boiling water, but rather a reservoir of warm water that the dogs sit in awhile. Using the crock pot produces the exact same effect and the taste will transport you to the shoulder of the road or a busy avenue sidewalk or wherever you eat your favorite dirty water dog.
