The United States Of Hot Dogs

 What makes a good hot dog? That depends on who you ask and where you ask it. There are so many variations of this simple and much loved summer fare. It may have a different meat other than beef or pork. Toppings vary greatly from state to state. Who has the best?

New contributor and co author of many cookbooks, J. J.  Goode wrote this fascinating piece in today's New York Times Food section. With it comes some luscious pictures and descriptions of tasty looking frankfurters. Not surprisingly New York both City and state have the most kinds.Syracuse has Snappy Grillers,a take on the German weisswurst or white sausages. These not onyl have pork and beef but also veal added along woth egg whites, non fat milk and spices.Buffalo has Ted's which charcoal grills foot long doggies. Of course there is the famed Nathan's in Coney Island where the dogs are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Then there is Pennsylvania's Texas Tommy's where the dogs are split and topped with bacon and cheddar strips - yum!!! Rhode Island's New York system served their meaty dogs (much like a Snappy griller) with chili sauce and onions. Then there are my Jersey favorites, Hirams in Fort Lee (my Mom's high school hangout) and Rutt's Hut in Clifton. These serve the Rippers (as does the Windmill Chain at the Jersey shore and Westfield)Hirams and Rut's Hut fry these foot long dogs until the skins crackle and they burst with juicy goodness,They're topped with chili cheese or relish - although plain is still very good. Washington D C has a smoked pork and beef one , derived from a breakfast sausage.

Of course Chicago dogs could rival those of New York ,New Jersey. and DC.They're known for their "dragged through the garden" ones.This means the franks are slathered in mustard and topped with neon green relish , chopped white onions, tomatoes ,pickle spears. peppers and celery salt. The South has the Slaw Dog ,c oming out of North Carolina. This is a bright red   colored beef dog topped with a creamy, finely cut  coleslaw. Cheese Dogs in Ohio top theirs with a good mound of cheddar along with a stripe of mustard. If you;re into Mexican then bite into the Sonoran. This Arizonan version has a strong Mexican influence where it's served in a roll similar to a bollilo and topped with pinto beans, onions and sliced tomatoes.It comes with two charred peppers on the side. There are the Coney's in Michigan and the bologna dog from Baltimore's Jewish Deli. The last is a beef hot dog wrapped in agriddled slice of bologna for a truly meaty experience .Cleveland has kielbasa instead to celebate the town's Polish heritage while Alaska has reindeer dogs!!!!. Seattle has the Seattle dog which is a hot dog  served on  a cream cheese slathered bun and topped with griddled onions Even Puerto Rico has its version, a Puerto Rican style dog that has carne molida cooked with onions as a kind of chili topping.

Everyone across the country is proud of their region's hot dog. They could be foot long, or served in acream cheese slathered bun.A ny way you make them, they're nothing more than delicious.

Cooking Dads

 Father's day is not just about barbecue and dads . fathers today are much more sophisticated than the generations before them. Theyre into hip dishes made with fresh and healthy ingredients.

Cookbook author and new contributor JJ Goode wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Today's dad may not even own a grill and may prmot5e a vegan lifestyle. even Mr. Goode, author of such cookbooks as Turkey And The wolf :Flavor Tripping Through new Orleans and Salt and Straw Ice Cream Book, doesn;t even have the trendy Big Green egg grill or a sixteen pound baking steel to make pizza for his kids. WHat  will he work with? Sneaking veggies into his kids pasta sauce for a healthier bite. There are more like him. Basically the star tof this modern dad cusine came from the turn of the century dude cooking where men embraced cool attitudes  and studied the swashbuckling chefs of the era. Still feeding people was still seem as being feminized. for some men that felt risky and they pushed back. They wanted their foods to be different than what moms were making.

Dads have evolved.Raymond Ho of Los Angeles cooks regulary for hist twin daughters. Hwoever he did have a role model in his dad who cooked for his family while his wife worked in a flower shop in Hong Kong.  His father brought him to wet markets to buy fish and meat.Mr. Ho is following suit He  not only splits cooking responsibilites with his wife but also grills on his Traeger pellet smoker and afire pit. he even ages steak. For  the couple Chase weideman-Grant and his husband Cory Grant, cooking meals are aspirational. He grew up watching the great British chef Jamie Oliver creating spaghetti with arugula for his daughters Poppy and daisy. he made his kids three different  roasted veggie dishes. There was cauliflower with chili crisp, carrots with honey and sumac and broccoli with lemon and garlic. None of the fathers Mr. Goode interviewed rfelied on barbecued meat but have a certain masculine take over. Some dads like Nathan englander make pita and baba ganoush from scratch instead of buying them at the grocery.

dad cooking is evolving and will evolve much like fathers themselves. They may grill. They may not. The will have the desire to provide their offspring with good food.