Apple Cider Dogs
If you want to give hot dogs a lift from the usual mustard and sauerkraut, consider Apple Cider Dogs. Depending on how many dogs you want to cook, a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar, applejack brandy and brown sugar should do the trick.
Using a fork, gently push three times into one side of the hotdog, then the other. Allow to sit for 30 minutes, then rotate so the other side marinates as well.
This is what my wife wanted for Super Bowl Sunday, there is almost 25″ of snow on the ground and its still coming down. So, without a grill, what do you do? I never boil my hot dogs, I like them very well done. So if I cannot grill, I get out the good old cast iron skillet and keep rolling them while they are cooking and crisp up nice until nearly black on all sides.
For the side, we make a salad (you need some green vegetables to cut all this) and of course, there has to be fries, but we opt for oven baked tater tots and toward the end we freshly grate some cheddar cheese over the top.
For the relish or dressing, of course there is mustard or sauerkraut (never ketchup), but here are some other relishes and toppings:
Blue Celery Slaw: Chop the leaves from the celery and combine with the celery
stalks as thin as you can possibly get them. Add chunks of blue cheese, blue cheese salad dressing and/or a tablespoon of mayonnaise. A food processor also works for this. Include lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper.
Charred Corn Salsa: Char your corn on the cob well on the grill, then slice off, add some queso fresco, lime zest and finely chopped red onion.
If you are entertaining, don’t be afraid to put out the usual condiments like mustard and relish as well. I try to limit myself to two hot dogs at a time, so I like having one gourmet and one traditional.