Everyone has one food that instantly transports them back to their childhood. For me, it’s Los Angeles' bacon-wrapped hot dogs.
From the slightly caramelized onions to the blistered serrano peppers, it’s a beautifully made masterpiece. I have the fondest memories of seeing those magical hot dog carts in action while walking the streets of downtown L.A., the smell of the sizzling bacon leading us back to the car after concerts or games at the Coliseum. Personally, I like to top mine with caramelized onions, serrano pepper, fresh tomato, ketchup, mustard, and sour cream. It’s a customizable masterpiece, if I do say so myself.
Sure, there are a few cities around the United States with noteworthy hot dogs. But this one? This one right here is my favorite. Try this recipe once, and you’ll never be the same. Yep, it’s that good.
Los Angeles-style hot dogs are packed with flavor.
L.A. bacon-wrapped hot dogs
People are also reading…
Servings: 8
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large white onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 all-beef hot dogs
8 slices bacon (not thick-cut)
8 serrano peppers
8 hot dog buns, split
Toppings
8 tablespoons mayonnaise, divided
2 medium Roma tomatoes, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
1 ripe medium avocado, diced
Diced pickled jalapenos
Ketchup
Mustard
Sour cream
Directions
Melt unsalted butter in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and softened, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, starting at one end of the hot dog, evenly wrap a slice of bacon around each hot dog; use halved toothpicks to secure the bacon if needed.
Transfer the onions to a small bowl and cover to keep warm. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel.
Return the skillet to medium heat. Working in batches if needed, place the hot dogs in the skillet and cook, flipping occasionally, until the bacon is evenly golden-brown all over, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to a large plate and cover to keep warm.
Add serrano peppers to the pan and cook over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until blistered on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to the plate with the hot dogs.
Pour off any bacon fat in the pan into a heatproof bowl; discard or reserve for another use. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel. Add 4 hot dog buns cut-side down to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat until toasted, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat toasting the remaining 4 buns.
To assemble, spread mayonnaise over the cut-side of each bun. Place a bacon-wrapped hot dog (remove any toothpicks first) in each bun. Top with the onions, serranos, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, diced pickled jalapenos, ketchup, mustard and sour cream as desired.
Refrigerate cooked hot dogs without any toppings or buns in an airtight container for up to three days.
Substitutions: If serrano peppers aren’t your thing, you can always swap them for slices of fresh red or green bell peppers that are blistered just like the serrano peppers. Diced uncooked onions can be substituted for caramelized onions.
— Janette Zepeda, TheKitchn.com
___
A light summer dessert for July Fourth
Sponge cake
A sponge cake (also called a foam cake) is a light and tender cake that gets its texture from whipped eggs. Cakes like angel food, genoise, chiffon and Victoria sponge all lie under the umbrella of “sponge.”
This recipe is closest in ingredients and technique to a chiffon sponge. The only difference is that in this recipe, instead of whipping the egg whites and yolks separately and then combining, I whip the eggs all together. I found that the structural integrity of the cake was not affected by mixing the yolks and whites.
Once baked and cooled, decorate with a mixture of berries and your favorite whipped cream for a festive Fourth of July celebration.
Sponge cake
Yield: Makes two (9-inch) round cakes
For the cake
6 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
To decorate
A mix of berries
Whipped cream
Directions
Crack six large eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if mixing by hand). Let sit until room temperature.
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of two (9-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper rounds. Do not grease the pans.
Beat the eggs with the whisk attachment on low speed until blended, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on low speed, slowly pour in ½ cup granulated sugar and beat until mostly incorporated. Slowly increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is tripled in size, pale, fluffy and forms soft, glossy peaks that resemble soft serve, 6 to 7 minutes.
With the mixer still on medium-high speed, slowly add vegetable oil in a thin stream and mix until combined, about 45 seconds. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. The mixture will have loosened a bit. Stop the mixer.
Place cake flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, and whisk to combine. Sift half the flour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the egg mixture. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Repeat sifting and folding in the remaining flour, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl, until no dry pockets of flour remain; it may take a few minutes to fully incorporate everything together.
Divide the batter between the cake pans and gently smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Bake until the cakes are golden-brown, 23 to 25 minutes. Run an offset spatula or butter knife around each cake to loosen. Let the cakes cool partially in the pan, 15 to 20 minutes. Flip the cakes out of the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
Decorate the cake with berries and whipped cream.
Tasty tips
Fold the ingredients gently: When incorporating the dry ingredients into the whipped eggs, gently fold the contents at the bottom of the bowl over the top until no dry streaks remain. There will likely be hidden dry pockets — even when you think you have combined everything — so you may need to gently tilt the bowl to seek out these hidden pockets. Be as gentle as possible as to not deflate the egg mixture.
Don’t grease the pan: A key step is to use an ungreased pan for the cake to cling to when baking.
To store: Wrap the cooled cakes in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to two days or freeze for up to three months.
— Amelia Rampe, TheKitchn.com
___
Berry patriotic: This bramble cocktail is ready for the Fourth
I developed this recipe at that particular time of the year in New England where the weather is warmer, but only just, and it’s raining all the time.
This lightly sweet, fruity cocktail is a delightful mix of gin, fresh lemon juice and blackberry liqueur. Similar to other bright, refreshing cocktails, like the mint julep or the French martini, it makes daily sunshine seem closer than ever. It also happens to be a festive addition to your Fourth of July spread!
Bramble cocktail
Why you’ll love it
Tune it to your tastes. If you want extra blackberry flavor, muddle fresh berries into the drink. If you’d prefer to let the gin shine, a simple drizzle of blackberry liqueur adds well-balanced flavor and sweetness on its own.
It has a perfect balance. Blackberries and lemon complement gin perfectly for a cocktail that’s bursting with refreshing flavor.
Bramble cocktail
Servings: 1
Ingredients
Ice, preferably crushed
2 to 3 fresh blackberries (optional)
2 ounces dry gin
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 medium lemon)
½ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce blackberry liqueur, such as crème de mûre
1 to 2 fresh blackberries, for garnish
Lemon slice, for garnish
Directions
Fill a lowball or old-fashioned glass with ice.
If you’d like to incorporate blackberries into the cocktail, place two to three fresh blackberries in a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle with a muddler or bar spoon until the berries are crushed and release their juices.
Add gin, lemon juice and simple syrup. Fill the shaker halfway with ice. Seal the shaker and shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds.
Pour through a strainer into the glass. Drizzle blackberry liqueur over the top of the cocktail. Garnish with 1 or 2 blackberries and a lemon slice.
Substitution: If you don't have crème de mûre, you can substitute Chambord, which is a black raspberry liqueur, if desired.
— Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn, TheKitchn.com
