Recipe -- Hot Dogs!

5/09 unedited tahoe mt. news

What’s a baseball game without a hot dog?
A relief is probably Sue’s answer. She was my tester during spring training in Arizona in March and then at AT&T park last month.
Americans consume nearly 20 billion hot dogs a year. That doesn’t include sales at ballparks, Wal-Mart and Costco because they don’t report the number of dogs sold.
Sue’s favorite was the Italian dog ($5.75) in San Francisco at the Giants ballpark.
“It has a little bit of spice to it and it doesn’t taste greasy,” Sue said as she watched Tim Lincecum strike out 13 batters before the Giants lost 2-0.
At Maryvale Stadium where the Brewers train there’s even a wiener race as part of the entertainment. They were sold out of polish dogs so Sue got a brat ($4) that she said was a little spicy. A guy in line said skip the ketchup and mustard in favor of the “stadium sauce,” which Sue described as being a bit sweet.
The next day’s lunch was the $5 all-beef dog at HoHoKam Stadium, home of the Cubbies. She was in the mood for a traditional dog so she skipped the Mesa Nacho Dog, the Cincy Chili Style Dog and the Chi-Town Dog.
“This is comparable to a Dodger Dog,” Sue said. “There’s something about a Dodger Dog you can’t put into words.”
At Scottsdale Stadium, home of the Giants, she opted for the Giant Dog ($5.75) over the brat and stadium dog because it is grilled, not steamed.
Out of the three spring training dogs she favored the dog at HoHoKam.
Even though the Giants serve vegetarian dogs in San Francisco, I have not had one. I’m not a big fan of tofu dogs. I’d just assume save room for garlic fries. (For some reason they cost $6 in Scottsdale and $6.75 in The City.)
Still, there was a day when hot dogs were something I loved to consume. Every Wednesday in elementary school was hot dog day. Hostess Ding Dongs and chocolate milk rounded out the meal. (It’s a good thing I was an active kid – though the average dog only has 148 calories.)
Dad would barbecue hot dogs. I remember this as my favorite -- slightly charred on the outside, with the casing a little brittle and the meat juicy inside. To this day Dad still likes the bigger dogs or sausage – something I was never a fan of.
“Be prepared to rotate them on the grill so that you end up with grill marks all around the dog,” Dad says. “Make sure that the skin splits due to cooking.”
Another favorite hot dog meal was something Mom called “hot dogs in sauce.” The recipe, even though Mom and I think it sounds kind of gross now, is below. But I have to tell you, I loved this as a kid. Mom served it with tater tots. She hopes she served it with a green salad, too, so there was something nutritious on the table.

Hot Dogs in Sauce

A hot dog or two per person
½ C ketchup for every 4-5 dogs
1 T or more brown sugar
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Water to thin the ketchup; about ¼ C per 4-5 dogs

Cook for about 15 minutes or until hot dogs are hot all the way through. Use medium heat to avoid scorching.