Bacon-wrapped Hot Dogs and Pickled Red Onions

If you haven't had a bacon-wrapped hot dog yet and you live in LA, you are missing out. My love of BWHD's (bacon wrapped hot dogs) was revived at a UCLA football game where I succumbed to the bacon aroma wafting from the various vendors outside the stadium. I was a little iffy about what kind of hot dogs and bacon they use so I decided to make my own (also they were charging $4 for one).



I also spiced it up a little by pickling red onions. I really like the idea of canning, jamming and pickling food, but I am also hooked by my overactive imagination and 20/20 specials on botulism. This is one baby step towards becoming a canning/jamming/pickling superstar. Also this was an excuse to get some pickling/mason jars, which I love so very much. The pickled red onions sparked the pickle-love in my roommate Jer and now there are ample supplies of pickled onions in our fridge, at all times. I pickled mine for about 2 days and at that point they were 70% rice wine vinegar and only 30% onion-y so I drained the pickling juice and replaced it with water.


And to make this worthy of a blog post, I made my own hot dog buns. This was surprisingly easy- it was no baguette. It's basically white bread dough shaped into hot dog bugs. They were tasty, especially when lightly brushed with some bacon fat. And yes you will have more hot dogs buns than hot dogs, but they were tasty on their own for sandwiches.


Ok, hopefully you know how to cook a hot dog? Wrap a nice thick cut of bacon around the hot dog, overlap a bit. I had to stick a toothpick in both ends of the bacon to keep it on the dog, but I pulled them out after it cooked for a bit so I could get all of the bacon fat rendered out. I prefer my BWHD closer to burnt so I cooked mine til they were very, very crispy. Also I made this on my ridged cast iron skillet so it was a little bit closer to being grilled. This also prevented the hot dog from being deep fried in bacon fat (too much bacon already).

BWHD + pickled red onions = SUCCESS

Potato and Leek Soup, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, & Garlic Bread

You know when winter is transitioning to spring when all you want is to curl up with a warm, creamy soup. With Angela's recent corn chowder post I thought I'd follow up with one of my favorite soups: Potato & Leek.

Recipe here, followed to the T: http://pinchmysalt.com/2008/03/19/a-hearty-potato-leek-soup-recipe-for-the-last-days-of-winter/

The only part that wasn't explained well was cutting the leek. How? You cut off 1/4 inch from the bottom stub, and cut off all the dark green part (about 1/2 inch into the light green part of the leek). You only use the white & light green parts, since that's the tender part of it. Chop lengthwise and then chop it up into finer portions. Wash thoroughly using a colander.


I made one change, and that was to add in some white truffle oil that I've been wanting to use. It makes the soup taste different--even more delicious!



What pairs well with a hearty soup? Hearty food!! So I decided to complete the dinner with some simple Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Garlic Bread:

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp: wrap uncooked bacon around peeled, raw shrimp and secure with a toothpick.


Grill on BBQ in medium to medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes. When the bacon is done, the shrimp will be done. (In the below picture the bacon is done but perhaps slightly undercooked for my taste.)


Garlic Bread:
Find the freshest french sweet bread you can find.
Make garlic butter sauce--mix 4 tbsp butter, melted + desirable amount of garlic spread + salt if butter is unsalted + dried oregano or basil

If you want crispier garlic bread:
1. Cut baguette in half horizontally.


2. Spread garlic butter sauce as desired, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired
3. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until desired crispiness is reached (this really depends on the size of your bread)


If you want softer garlic bread:
1. Make several vertical cuts, short lengthwise, but leaving the bread still intact at the ends.


2. Spread garlic butter sauce as desired, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired
3. Wrap completely in aluminum foil


4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until desired doneness is reached


Serve together and it makes for a surprisingly filling and delicious meal.

Korean BBQ Chicken

JUST a side note: since I'm not allowed to BBQ at the place I live at, I had to improvise using an oven and some pan frying, but a charcoal BBQ grill will make this taste best. ;)


Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle Korean BBQ Sauce (find at 99 Ranch or Korean markets)
  
• 6-8 pieces of boneless chicken thighs (or whatever cut of chicken you like)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• pepper to taste (if desired)

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken in a gallon-sized zip-lock bag for at least 2-3 hours, or overnight. I usually give it about 3-4 hours.
2. Bake chicken in a pan at 350 F for about 45 minutes or until ready (not bleeding if cut in thickest part of chicken). *The key here to keep your chicken moist is to COVER the pan completely with foil paper! (Caution: steam is HOT. Be careful when you remove the foil after baking!)
3. Heat oil in pan and pan fry the cooked chicken until you get a slight burnt look. Enjoy!

Korean BBQ Sauce

This is the best sauce I've found so far--same one my mom uses when she BBQs over a propane grill. Tastes wonderful, and this also works really well for bulgogi (Korean BBQ short ribs)!