Hot Dog Extravaganza Part 1

Everyone loves hot dogs! Giraffes, pet rocks, the secret hot dog mafia who have in no way forced me to write this article under duress. In fact, if someone tells you they don’t, they’re probably a pod person, or at the very least somebody you should keep a close eye on. A while back we ran a contest asking you talented chefs-in-waiting to come up with your favourite hot dog recipes to celebrate The Adventure Pals, the upcoming action-adventure platformer by your friend and mine, Massive Monster.

While we wait for a special-ordered ingredient to arrive for one of the top-rated recipes for our grand prize winner dog-off next week, our very own Tasselfoot and his lady fair were kind and brave enough to step up to the bat and try out some of the more eclectic ‘dawgs. How did they rate on the patented Tass-Taste-o-Meter?

jimmycarlos’ Pizza Dog: Hot dog buns, classic American hot dogs, grated mozzarella, pre-made tomato marinara, sriracha sauce (ideally Huy Fong Sriracha), Italian pepperoni/salami.
Grill your hot dog, and add some sriracha to your pre-made marinara. Add a little or add a lot. Put your Hot Dog in the bun, then top it with a generous helping of spicy marinara, then some grated mozzarella and some slices of pepperoni. Put in a baking tray and then put in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 5 for 10 minutes or until the bread is crispy and brown.

Tass: 8.5
It’s pizza and a hot dog together. What isn’t to love? Shockingly, the pepperoni flavor wound up getting a bit lost amongst the hot dog and spicy marinara. It was also a bit taxing to have to use both a grill and an oven.

Lady Tass: 8
I enjoyed the pizza and hot dog combination, especially with the toasted buns. It wasn’t spicy to me. I felt that the pepperoni should have been on the top of the hot dog, per the instructions, but Tass put it under the cheese, so now I will never really know what a pizza hot dog tastes like. I did make a mess eating it which took off a point, as I can neatly eat pizza and a hot dog separately.

Welltell’s Soy Sauce Dog: Soya Sauce, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder.
Mix that all up and then pour it into a frying pan, add hot dogs, and roll around in that sauce until it is nice and cooked.

Tass: 4
I think I needed more precise amounts to use for the base… it wound up tasting very salty from the salt and soy sauce, but the soy and olive oil cooked off in the pan, leaving almost a dry rub behind. It didn’t taste very good in that form. The instructions were also unclear about any toppings, so we went au naturale with just the pan sauce.

Lady Tass: 3
The flavor was very odd, and it made me want to stop eating. I felt this hot dog was marred by the sauce, although that may just be Tass’ cooking.

Hectichermit’s Mexican Dog: Refried beans, tortilla chips, chorizo, Mexican blend queso, sour cream, cilantro.
Toast the inside of the bun golden brown, spread hot refried beans as a base in the bun. Put in sliced chorizo that has been pan fried and tortilla chips, topping with cheese. Nuke the dog for a few seconds until the cheese melts. Chop some cilantro, blend it with sour cream, then use it top off the dog.

Tass: 7
I was concerned about the beans and the sour cream, but the chorizo was really delicious by itself. I could have gone for just chorizo and cheese. The tortilla chips were fairly large and solid, which made eating it somewhat tricky.

Lady Tass: 5.5
I had read hesitation about the sour cream & cilantro but it was pretty good. I didn’t love the chorizo. It was also messy to eat. Very messy. I might like this combo on a hot dog more.

Chubbycheek’s Dessert Dog: Hot dog, hot dog bun, one strawberry Pop-Tart, premium vanilla ice cream, Hershey chocolate syrup, and Smucker’s strawberry jam.
Cook the hot dog and toast the bun as you prefer. Get a strawberry Pop-Tart and break it in half lengthwise. Place each of the halves of the Pop-Tarts at the sides of the hot dog within the bun. Put two scoops of vanilla ice cream on the hot dog, then some strawberry jam on the ice cream, and finally some Hershey chocolate syrup on all of it.

Tass: 1
This was awful. It looked awful from the ingredients, and it somehow tasted even worse. None of these flavors work together. I think I dry heaved a little while swallowing. I managed to eat the entire dog of the other 3, but I could barely make it through a small bite of this. No. No, no, no, no. This should be served as dessert at Guantanamo Bay.

Lady Tass: 1
The pop tart in the bun dissolved into a carbohydrate muck while chewing. The hog dog made the ice cream sad, which made me sad. These ingredients do not belong together for any reason.

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