Pimento Cheese Fattie (or sandwiches)

This is Anita's mom's recipe for pimento cheese. Anita makes it for almost every family get-together. People love it heaped up on bread as a sandwich. There's never any leftovers.

Leave it to me to trash a family tradition and shove the pimento cheese spread inside a fattie! But hey, it's really, really good! I did stay true to Anita's mom's recipe by not making any substitutions. Some things you just don't mess with.


The best way to make the cheese mixture is with a meat grinder. You can also do it by hand, but it'll take a lot of work. A food processor might also work, but I've never tried that. You'd want to be careful to not over-process the mixture.

Makes: 8 sandwiches, or 1 fattie and a few sandwiches
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes (for fattie cook time, see our fattie page)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 24 slices Kraft American cheese
• 1 small jar diced pimentos, drained
  
• 3 boiled eggs, peeled
• Salt and sugar, to taste
• 3/4 cup Miracle Whip dressing, plus more as needed
  
• 5 sweet pickles

1. Feed ingredients except Miracle Whip into a meat grinder. Combine mixture by hand.

2. Stir in Miracle Whip. Add more as needed. You don't want an overly wet mixture, but something that is firm and can hold up in a sandwich.

3. Serve cold for sandwiches or use as a fattie filling.

Black Pepper Shrimp

Whenever we get a chance, we load up on wild-caught Louisiana shrimps. Usually, 16-20 count, in the shell. Just like husking corn, I consider shelling and de-veining shrimp to be therapy. Well, depending on how many you have to do, that is. For this recipe, de-vein the shrimp, but keep them in the shells.


These shrimp are mighty peppery (the original recipe is here), but that's the whole idea. Don't be shy with the pepper and always use fresh-ground.

We had this with our homemade cocktail sauce.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

• 3 pounds fresh shrimp
• 8 T butter
• 3 T garlic, chopped
• 4 T freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. Rinse, drain and de-vein the shrimp. Place in a shallow baking dish.

3. In a saucepan, melt the better. Add the garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Pour over the shrimp and toss to coat.

4. Pepper shrimp until very well covered. Do not be shy with the pepper! Use a heavy hand!

5. Bake until pink, approximately 5 minutes, then turn and bake a few minutes longer. Remove from oven and pepper again.

Garlic New Potatoes with Herbed Sour Cream

These potatoes are fantastic! The garlic flavor is super, while the herbed sour cream gives a nice, cool contrast.


Be careful making the slits in the potatoes. You don't want to cut so far as to cut the potato into pieces. I found the original recipe here.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound red new potatoes
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 4 T butter, melted
• 2 T olive oil
• Herbed sour cream (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Carefully cut parallel vertical slits in each potato, approximately 1/4" apart.

3. Place garlic slices between each of the middle 3 slits of each potato.

4. Toss potatoes in a bowl with butter and olive oil.

5. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until potatoes are crispy and cooked through, about 1 hour. Start checking the potatoes after 40 minutes.

6. Serve topped with herbed sour cream.

Herbed Sour Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1 t fresh parsley leaves, chopped

1. Combine ingredients a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Jamaican Jerked Chicken

Looking at this picture brings back good memories to us both. This chicken was fantastic. The BBQ sauce is also very good.



The original recipe calls for using various chicken pieces. We decided to use just thighs.

Makes: 4-6 servings
Prep time: 24 hours 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds chicken pieces
• 2 cups distilled white vinegar,
• 1 t distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups green onions, chopped fine
• 2 Scotch bonnets, seeded and minced (you substitute jalapeños)
• 2 T soy sauce
• 4 T fresh lime juice
• 5 t ground allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T salt
• 2 t sugar
• 1 1/2 t dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 t cinnamon
• Jamaican BBQ sauce (see below)

1. In a food processor or blender, combine all except the chicken and BBQ sauce.

2. Rinse chicken well in 2 cups of vinegar and drain. Rinse with cold water and pat dry. Place in large resealable bags.

3. Reserve 2 T of the marinade. Divided the remaining marinade between the bags of chicken. Toss well to coat and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

4. Preheat grill to high and grill chicken until done. Serve with BBQ sauce.

Jamaican BBQ Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups ketchup
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 T hot pepper sauce
• 2 T reserved jerk marinade (from above)
• 3 green onions, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 T fresh ginger, minced
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
• 3 T dark rum

1. In a non-reactive saucepan, combine all ingredients except for the rum and bring to a boil. Stir and continue heating until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is thick, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Let cool before serving.

Anita's Salsa

A co-worker of Anita's left out some awesome home-grown tomatoes and peppers for people to grab up at her office the other day. I told her to back up the truck on them and make some salsa. Never pass up on the fresh stuff, I always say.


You can pretty much throw whatever you want into a salsa. Just keep it fresh, and add as much kick as you want.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 avocados, diced (we add the avocados after we serve, since they don't like being left over)
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 T fresh lime juice
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 serano peppers (or other hot peppers), diced (seed them if you want less heat)
• Hot sauce, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Old-Bay Grilled Steak Fries

I'm a big fan of Old Bay seasoning. If you don't have any on hand, fear not, because I've included a copycat recipe for making it yourself.


There's just something about grilled potatoes. Idaho, fingerlings, new .... doesn't matter to us, we love them off the grill. This recipe came from Bobby Flay.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 Idaho potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 T salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 T Old Bay seasoning (see below if you don't have access to the pre-made seasoning)

1. Place potatoes in cold water in a large pot. Add salt and cook until potatoes are tender but still fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain, let cool, and cut each potato into 8 slices lengthwise.

2. Heat grill to high.

3. Brush potatoes with oil and season with the Old Bay seasoning. Grill until golden brown and cooked through, 3-5 minutes.

Old-Bay Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 1 T ground bay leaves
• 2 1/2 t celery salt
• 1 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1 t ground black pepper
• 1/2 t ground white pepper
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1/4 t ground allspice
• 1/2 t ground ginger
• 1 t paprika
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 t ground mace
• 1/4 t ground cardamom

1. Mix all ingredients.

Fresh Blackberries and Ice Cream

We picked up some absolutely fantastic, fresh-picked blackberries at the farmer's market last Saturday. We made a blackberry sauce and had it over double-vanilla ice cream.


The sauce is easy to make! Summer at its best!

It's up to you whether you want to strain out the seeds from the sauce. The seeds in the berries we bought were not tough, so we kept them in.

Makes: 4 servings
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pint fresh blackberries, rinsed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Ice cream

1. Place berries (reserving a few for garnish) in a sauce pan with the sugar. Heat over medium heat until the berries boil and soften. Using a fork, squish the berries against the bottom of the pan to release their juices. Continue cooking until a thick sauce is produced. Remove from heat.

2. Optionally, strain the sauce at this point to remove the seeds.

3. Serve over ice cream and garnish with remaining berries.

Roast Beef Sandwiches with Black-Eyed Pea Salad

We went up to the Black Pine Animal Sanctuary a while back. We decided to pack a lunch for the trip. We sat at a picnic table and enjoyed our lunch, surrounded by wildlife.


The roast beef sandwiches were outstanding. I packed the spread in a separate container that I kept in a cooler, along with everything else but the bread. Anita enjoyed the black-eyed pea salad, a recipe from Emeril. I thought it was pretty good, but I like our other version a little better.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb medium-rare deli roast beef, sliced thin
• 1 loaf ciabatta, cut in half lengthwise
• 4 cups fresh spinach, washed
• 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
• Green goddess spread (see recipe below)

1. Spread green goddess spread on bottom slice of bread. Layer with spinach, roast beef, cucumber. Top with other slice of bread.

Green Goddess Spread:

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 2 T sour cream
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 T white wine vinegar
• 1/2 t Dijon mustard
• 1 T fresh taragon, chopped
  
• 1/4 t anchovy paste

1. Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Makes: 8 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes (not counting pea cook time)
Cook time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 cups cooked and drained black-eyed peas (I used 1 pound dry, cooked)
• 4 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled, fat reserved
• 1/2 cup plus 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
• 3 T green onion, chopped fine
• 2 T jalapeño, chopped fine
• 2 T fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 1/2 t garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 t Creole seasoning
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine the peas, bacon, and 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

2. Allow to come to room temperature (approximately 30 minutes) and toss well before serving.

Twice-Grilled Peppers with Caper-Basil Vinaigrette

These are an excellent side. Anita loves capers, so she was particularly fond of the vinaigrette.


This is the first time I've come across a recipe that requires that you grill the peppers twice. I was a little skeptical that the second grilling would make a difference, but it did really make the peppers taste even better. Since it was just the two of us for dinner, I cut the recipe back to use just a single yellow and orange pepper.

Makes: 8 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 medium red bell peppers
• 3 medium yellow bell peppers
• 3 medium orange bell peppers
• 3 T olive oil
• 3/4 t salt
• 3/4 t fresh ground pepper
• Italian bread, sliced thin and grilled
• 1 pound fresh buffalo cheese, cut into thin slices
• Fresh basil, for garnish
• Caper-basil vinaigrette (recipe below)

1. Heat grill to high. Brush peppers with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season with half of the salt and peppers. Place on grill and grill until well charred. Remove from grill and place in a baggie. Seal and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Remove skins, brush with remaining oil and season with remaining salt and pepper. Return to grill and grill until just slightly charred. Remove.

2. Slice peppers into wide strips large enough to cover the bread. Place peppers and mozzarella on top of bread slices then drizzle with the vinaigrette. Garnish with basil and serve at room temperature.

Caper-Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 3 T red wine vinegar
• 1 t Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T capers, drained
• 2 T fresh basil leaves, chopped

1. Whisk vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper until well mixed. While still whisking, slowly add the oil. Continue whisking until emulsified. Stir in the capers and basil.

Grilled Fingerlings with Tarragon Vinaigrette

I haven't cooked much with tarragon, if ever, so I was a little skeptical about using a tarragon vinaigrette on some grilled fingerling potatoes.


They turned out great. The tarragon was not overpowering at all. Definitely a keeper. The original recipe is here.

Makes: 2-4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 T shallot, chopped
• 1 T prepared mustard
• 1 T mayonnaise
• 2 T fresh tarragon leaves, chopped (plus more for garnish, if desired)
• 12 fingerling potatoes
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more

1. Heat a pan of water to boiling and add the potatoes. Cook until par-boiled. Remove, drain, let cool slightly and cut in halves.

2. Place the vinegar, a teaspoon of water, shallot, mustard, mayonnaise and tarragon in a blender and puree until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil and continue blending until emulsified. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

3. Heat grill to medium high. Brush both sides of the potatoes with vegetable oil and place on grill cut side down. Grill until lightly golden, then flip over and continue grilling until just cooked through.

4. Transfer potatoes to a platter and serve with the vinaigrette. Garnish with tarragon leaves if desired.

Eeeeek! Run for your life!

Where's John Goodman ala Arachnophobia when you need him?

We have a composter out back by the shed. There's always a lot of activity in it, including a garden spider the size of a '74 Gremlin. No, seriously. It's huge. And it has been taking care of a rather large brood... or about-to-be brood.


Well, the other day, as I was walking by, they all hatched. At once. This picture was about 10 minutes after it started because I had to run in the house and get the camera. There were actually thousands of these little fellows! It was crazy cool! I only wish I had my camera with me when it started, because it was amazing!

Pulled Pork Egg Rolls

Oh, me. We could've had so many of these that it would be embarrassing to admit to the actual number.


The peach dipping sauce was fantastic. This is a great way to use up leftover pulled pork.

Makes: 10 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound leftover smoked pulled pork
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 T water
• 10 egg roll wrappers
• 1 pint homemade coleslaw (or store-bought)
• Peach dipping sauce (see below)
• BBQ sauce (we used Grandma Foster's smooth and spicy)
• Oil, for frying

1. Add oil to a deep fryer and heat to 350 F.

2. Beat the egg and water together in a bowl.

3. Brush edges of egg roll wrappers with the egg wash. With a triangle edge pointed towards you, place some pork and coleslaw on the wrapper. Fold and roll and set seam side down.

4. Deep fry rolls, in batches, until crispy browned, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain. Serve with BBQ sauce, peach dipping sauce, and remaining coleslaw.

Peach Dipping Sauce:

• 3/4 cup peach preserves
• 3 T rice wine vinegar
• 2 T Djion mustard
• 1 T ginger, grated
• 1 t dried red pepper flakes

1. Mix all ingredients and refrigerate until needed.

Yogurt Grilled Chicken Breast with Pineapple Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

This chicken comes out very tender and tasty. The salsa is delightful, and really goes well with the chicken.


I saw this recipe on the Food Network's show, Party Line with the Hearty Boys, which often had great recipes.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 t dried basil
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 t salt
• 1 t hot sauce
• 4 (8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Pineapple roasted red pepper salsa (see below)

1. Mix the yogurt, oil, garlic, basil, oregano, lemon zest, salt and hot sauce together. Add the chicken and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Heat grill to high and cook chicken about 5 minutes per side or until done.

3. Serve with salsa, and optionally, lemon slices for garnish.

Pineapple Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

• 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 jar roasted red peppers, diced, or roast 2 large red peppers on the grill
  
• 2 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 t hot sauce
• Salt

1. Mix all ingredients and serve.

Deep Fried Asparagus with Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce

We love asparagus. We usually prepare it roasted in the oven, or grilled. This time, we tried something different. Deep fried!



These are super tasty and crunchy. Not so good leftover, since they get soggy, so make what you plan on having. The original recipe came from Paula Deen.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 T hot sauce
• 1 1 /2 cups cornmeal mix
• 1 T Cajun seasoning (I used a Cajun mix from Cajun Power)
• Oil, for frying
• Creole Mustard Sauce (see below)

1. Heat 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 360 F.

2. Place rinsed asparagus in a baggie with flour and shake to cover.

3. In a pie pan, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce. In another pie pan (or shallow bowl), mix cornmeal and Cajun seasoning.

4. Dip asparagus in buttermilk mix, then the dry mix. Fry in oil, in batches, 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Drain. Serve with Creole Mustard sauce.

Creole Mustard Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 t Creole seasoning (I used a Cajun mix from Cajun Power)
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 3 T Creole mustard (I used Zatarain's)
• 2 t dry ranch dressing mix
• 1 t fresh lemon juice
• 3 t hot sauce
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• Salt, to taste

1. Mix all ingredients. Chill until needed.

Chorizo and Cheddar Fattie

This may be my most favorite fattie yet. How can you beat the spicy flavor of a Mexican chorizo sausage and cheddar?


We took our standard fattie preparation (except that you don't need to use a fattie piston), using a regular Jimmy Dean sausage as the base. Next, we added a few handfuls of fresh-grated sharp Tillamook cheddar. Last, we put in a single 7.5 oz chorizo sausage.

Grilled Bologna (Baloney) Sandwich

When we stopped by That Sandwich Place in Nashville, IN, the other day, Anita ordered their Upper Income Baloney Sandwich Platter. She really liked it a lot. So, I decided to make my own version. On the grill, of course.


I have to admit I'd never had a grilled baloney sandwich before this. I'll definitely make these again. I might even try a little BBQ sauce on it!

Makes: 2 sandwiches
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Hamburger buns
• 1/4 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
• Mayonnaise, to taste
• Mustard, to taste
• 2 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices, thick bologna

1. Heat grill to medium high. Place bologna slices on grill. Grill for 1 minute then rotate slightly to get nice grill marks. Grill 2 more minutes, then flip, and continue grilled for 2 more minutes. Remove.

2. Toast buns slightly on grill. Slather with mayo and mustard. Add bologna and cheese. Add lettuce and onion. Serve.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn

Sweet corn is finally in season here. Every Saturday morning we head to the Binford Farmer's Market and get a baker's dozen of corn on the cob from My Dad's Sweet Corn. Best there is!


The original recipe is here.

Makes: 4 ears
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 ears sweet corn, husked
• 2 T corn oil
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t garlic salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 lime, cut into quarters

1. Heat grill to medium high. Rub corn with oil and grill, turning often, until charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill.

2. Mix together the mayo, chili powder, garlic salt and pepper.

3. Brush corn with mayo mixture. Squeeze lime over corn and serve.

Deviled Eggs

We made these recently for a get together at my sister-in-law's house. Everyone loved them!


These are very easy to make. The original recipe comes from Paula Deen. We felt that it didn't make enough filling, so we changed it some.

Makes: 24 egg halves
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes (egg boiling time)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 dozen large eggs, hard boiled and peeled (12 are for stuffing. The remaining 12 are used for their yolks.)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 T sweet pickle relish
• 2 t prepared mustard
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Sweet gherkin pickles
• Pimentos

1. Halve the eggs. Remove the yolks into a bowl. Discard 24 of the halves or use in an egg salad.

2. Mash yolks with a fork and add the mayonnaise, pickle relish, and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture. It's easier to use an icing piper or frosting bag, or if those aren't available, put the mixture in a plastic baggie, cut off the tip, and use that to pipe the mixture.

4. Garnish with paprika, pickles, and pimentos. Store covered in the fridge.

Tomato Tart

We found this recipe in a recent copy of Cuisine At Home magazine. They often have good recipes.


Since there's only the two of us, we modified this to be for two people. You can certainly change it if you are making it for more people. We also used more cheese than the original recipe called for.

Makes: 2 Servings
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 T warter
• 4 oz goat cheese, softened (we used Chavrie)
• 1 T milk
• Cherry tomatoes (both red and yellow, halved if large), about 8-10
• 1 T fresh basil, chopped

1. Thaw puff pastry (approximately 40 minutes). Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Cut pastry sheet into 4 equally sized squares. Take two squares and place them on a parchment paper lined pan.

3. Take the remaining 2 squares and cut them into 4 strips each.

4. Place the strips around the edges of the two large squares and brush with the egg wash.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. The centers of the squares will puff up a bit.

6. Whisk the milk and cheese together and spread over the centers of the squares, pushing down the puffed up pastry.

7. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and bake 5 minutes. Top with basil and serve.

Brown County State Park

We took a few days off last week and went down to Brown County State Park and to Nashville, Indiana.

On the way we stopped at Hickory Hills BBQ in Edinburgh and picked up some sandwiches and slaw. We then headed over to Ogle Lake at the Brown County State Park.


We chowed down on the BBQ. You know you're eating good BBQ when you get it on your trunk.

We then decided to walk around the lake. There are several different walking trails at the park.


Anita commented about how us being noisy would keep any snakes away. Wrong...

Next stop was the fire tower. I vowed to get up further than the last time we were there. I did not make it any further. In fact, I stopped at the same place as last time. In my defense, it's a little shaky.


We then went down to Strahl lake. It was pretty crowded there, so we decided to find a quiet place to read for a while.


We pulled over and set up our chairs and read for a bit.


Next we stopped by the Nature Center, which was pretty cool. They had snakes, and turtles, and a beehive, and lots of other things.


Finally we headed to the hotel, the Brown County Inn. We've stayed there quite a bit over the years. During the summer, we just camp out by the pool.



Ok, I have to admit it, I am addicted to the claw game in the arcade by the pool. Why? Because I'm actually pretty good at it. We have amassed a rather large collection of toys that we will be donating this year.

Grilled Hot Dog Sandwich

This is my take on a great sandwich called the Whoppin' Big Dawg Platter that I had at That Sandwich Place in Nashville, IN. That Sandwich Place has some good food, good service, and tons and tons of Bobby Knight memorabilia.


They don't grill the dogs or buns, but I did. Feel free to use steamed or boiled dogs and non-toasted buns instead.

Makes: 2 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 hot dogs
• 2 Hamburger buns
• Mayo
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• Velveeta cheese (can sub American cheese slices)

1. Heat grill to medium high. Butterfly the hot dogs by cutting them (but not all the way through) lengthwise and spreading them open. Lay flat on grill and grill, turning once, until done.

2. Toast the buns on the grill.

3. Melt Velveeta in the microwave. If using American cheese instead, place cheese on buns while toasting over the grill.

4. Spread mayo on one side of the buns. Top with lettuce and onion, then add ketchup and mustard. Add hot dogs. Spread melted cheese on other bun side and top the sandwich. Serve.

Shorpy Historic Photo Archive

If you like old photos, then you will find the Shorpy Historic Photo Archive to be absolutely awesome.

My favorites are the shots of the old stores, but they have pictures of all sorts of things. You can definitely spend a lot of time going through them.

My new Mini-Weber

Well, just in case I need to do up some quick sliders on the grill, I picked up this mini-Weber at the antique mall today.


Ok, it's not really a real grill, but it's cool. In the background you can see its much older brother, a 12 year old 18 1/2" Weber kettle.