Haute Dogs

June 9, 2014
An admitted hot dog lover since the age of seven, food blogger Van Kraayenburg shares his love of hot dogs in all their incarnations in this collection of inspired twists on what many may consider to be a one-note dish. Obsessives can certainly follow Van Krayenburg down the rabbit hole to create their own all-beef hot dogs, bratwurst, and buns, but carnivores simply in search of some ideas to jazz up the basic dog will benefit the most from Van Krayenburg's tutelage, who shares tips on creating the Danger Dog, a Mexican riff that calls for wrapping the weiner in bacon and frying it before dressing it with chili; the Columbian Pineapple Dog; or the Swedish Shrimp Dog, an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach that tops the dog with mashed potatoes, pickle mayo, shrimp salad, onions, ketchup, mustard and lettuce. Purists will appreciate classics like the Chicago Dog, with its iconic sport peppers, Washington D.C. style Half-Smoke and the summertime favorite, the basic corn dog. Whether or not the world really needs instructions on how to prepare a chili cheese dog or bratwurst is debatable, but Van Kraayenburg's enthusiasm for the topic and eye for detail is infectious. Casual consumers can probably pass this one up but obsessives will appreciate the book's global approach.

May 15, 2014

Hot dog-obsessed blogger van Kraayenburg (chasingdelicious.com) uses unique toppings, quality ingredients, and carefully chosen cooking methods to elevate hot dogs into "haute dogs." Like Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn's Wieners Gone Wild, this cookbook includes history, cooking basics, and recipes for buns and condiments. Unlike many similar titles, it also includes recipes for a dozen types of homemade hot dogs and sausages. Regional variations like the spicy South African sausage roll and the New York system wiener can be assembled from store-bought or homemade components, and they're only challenging when made entirely from scratch. VERDICT A contemporary guide to gourmet hot dogs. Highly recommended.

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