There’s not much in the world I would rather not eat than a hot dog.
I’m sure I don’t need to go into what they’re made of or how they feel in your mouth. I’m assuming if you’re here on my blog then maybe you’re not that fond of hot dogs either (although I might argue that Hebrew Nationals are another animal worth a turn every once in a while).
Despite my loathing of hot dogs, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Haute Dogs by Russell Van Kraayenburg. Russell is the mastermind behind Chasing Delicious as well as these beautiful Kitchen 101 infographics. I’ve been blog crushing on him for a while, just love the aesthetic for everything he does, and couldn’t wait to see how he could make hot dogs interesting for 161 pages.
To my delight the book even includes ideas for meatless hot dogs, although I’m sure you could go veg for any of the creative dogs in the book. There’s also a chapter devoted to condiments and toppings perfect for anyone.
Before giving up meat, I may have eaten a hot dog or two in my life just as a vehicle for ketchup and mustard. When I was a kid one of my favorite foods was white hot dog buns slathered with ketchup. Thanks to my childhood quirkiness I knew the first recipe I needed to try from this book was the homemade quick ketchup.
I don’t know how to adequately express the smell in my kitchen while this was simmering. It was like summertime, family, and sun. The smell of ketchup is so intricately linked to running outside, swatting bugs, and nibbling on deviled eggs while waiting for the burgers to cook on the grill that I almost forgot it was still 30 degrees outside.
While the ketchup smell was spot on, the flavor was slightly different than what comes in a bottle. It definitely wasn’t a problem and was still perfect smeared on my veggie burger. I love that this also works as a jumping off point for customizing your own ketchup. How do you enjoy ketchup?
Quick Ketchup
Ingredients
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon powdered garlic
- ¼ teaspoon powdered onion
Instructions
- In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot, stir all the ingredients until combined. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, reduce heat to low, and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Gillian @ The Haas Machine says
Ruby & I were watching “Cloudy with a chance of meatballs” not too long ago & it made me want a hotdog SO BAD! That’s possibly the worst movie for a pregnant lady to watch, ever. I usually stay away from hotdogs, too, but if they are grilled, I kind of like them (gasp!) I also have been known to crave burgers, but mostly for the lovely salty ketchup + mustard + pickle combination. I’m totally going to try this ketchup.
Serviced Apartments Resident says
This was actually the most enjoyable recipe post I’ve ever read! I felt like I could smell that same smell of Summer.
Lindsay Moe says
Thank you!