Thursday, June 24, 2010

Muffuletta Hot Dogs - has a great name, and a great taste

I just had to try this recipe, from the June 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, because of its fantastic name.
   Luckily, the final product lived up to its fantastic label, and was also an absolute snap to prepare.
   I’ve officially added Muffuletta Hot Dogs (click here for a copy of the recipe) to my summer heavy-rotation recipe list – it’s going to be made often!
   Muffuletta Hot Dogs, it seems, are a take on Muffuletta sandwiches, which originated in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.
   Doing a little Internet research on the topic, I found traditional Muffuletta sandwiches have provolone cheese, salami and ham, and are topped with an olive mixture.
   This hot dog recipe keeps the provolone, but all-beef hot dogs take the place of salami and ham.
   The highlight of the hot dog recipe is its delicious, zesty topping, the key ingredient of which is peperoncini, a type of pepper.
   This recipe calls for the jarred pickled variety of peperoncini, which I found in the same section of the supermarket where relishes and other pickled peppers are kept.
   For the recipe, the peperoncini and some of its brine is combined with red onion and dried oregano and is left to stand for 30 minutes. It’s then drained.
   Meanwhile, sliced provolone cheese is placed on the inside of hot dog buns, and the buns are put on the grill to let the cheese melt. The hot dogs are cooked and put in the buns.
   The hot dogs are topped with the peperoncini and onion mixture, sliced roasted red peppers from the jar and black olive tapenade.
   I was unable to find black olive tapenade,but found green olive and used it instead, and the hot dogs still tasted right (delicious, actually!). However, I suspect the tapenade could be skipped and the final product would be just fine.

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