Happy (Belated) National Hot Dog Day!

Unbeknownst to most people, Wednesday was National Hot Dog Day. Strangely, this event seems to have been passed over by the maintream media. Leave it to us bloggers to expose what the anti-linked meat establishment refuses to cover!

I've expounded on my love for hot dogs before in these pages. I didn't realize the subconcious source of this affection until recently, when watching an episode of Iron Chef America on the Food Network. Iron Chef Cat Cora, when asked for the theme of her hamburger-based menu, stated that she was paying homage to "street food." A ha! Street food, the original "fast food"! When she said that, I finally understood the relationship between my peculiar affections for hot dogs, sausages, burgers and sandwiches. Here was cuisine at it's most simple, elemental. No fancy sauces, no temperamental ingredients, just plain good flavor, aroma and texture.

Hot dogs are the classic street food. On my recent trip to Boston, we passed by a sausage vendor on our way around the Freedom Trail. Our guide was kind enough to stop and explain the historical significance of Kings Church downwind from the small cart. My interest in American history evaporated quickly in the savory aroma of a half dozen Italian sausages cooking in the cold Beantown air.

In a hot dog (and I use that term loosely to describe any type of linked meat product served on a bun), you have in one package lunch as God intended. First, a good quality bun provides a base structure as well as added absorption to catch any juices or condiments. Then, a lava-hot frankfurter or sausage provides the main flavor. Hot dogs and sausages should taste like meat, period. Real meat, the kind that rhymes with "leaf" or "dork." Finally, there's the toppings. Personally, I like mine with diced onions, cheese and brown mustard, but I've had everything from good cole slaw to salsa and chili slathered on my dogs. Just no ketchup, period. Ketchup makes everything taste like ketchup. In one portable handful of grub you have carbs, protein, vegetables and seasonings. The perfect meal!

The hot dogs shown above are Hebrew National 97% Fat Free dogs, my choice for low calorie eats. They're made from beef and are only one point each. In fact, the entire plate of dogs is only 8 points total, when using 2% fat cheese (1/2 slice per), light bread, and no sugar added bread and butter relish. I know, they don't look like much, but they really hit the spot when I'm getting a craving, and at 2 points per dog (vs 10-14 for a normal hot dog and bun) I can afford to gorge on beefy goodness whenever I please. I've tried every kind of light hot dog I could get my hands on, and these are the only ones that actually taste like real hot dogs.

Soon, my food grinder attachment will arrive for my stand mixer, and I'll free myself from the chemically-laden commercial sausage landscape. Then, my pursuit of tasty and healthy hot doggery will be limited only by my creativity! I can't wait...