Effortless Entree -- Recipe #19: BeeBeeFurter

Sometimes, I just don't feel like really cooking. As good as pasta sounds, as much as that chicken piccata is calling my name, I just can't muster the energy to break out all the pans and all the ingredients and spend an hour in the kitchen. On days like this, I take an easy way out with recipes like this one.

Though I guess that by my standards, I wouldn't consider this *technically* a recipe, since I don't really specify any measurements, it's a deliciously nitrate-ful plate of tastiness.

I grew up in a small town in eastern Connecticut. I have lots of good memories, and most of my family still lives there. In that town, there used to be a mall. The building is still there, but the vast majority of stores are long-gone. There was Puppy Love (a pet store that was like torture for two little animal-loving girls), Caldor, Shetucket Harness, the Candy Carousel (chocolate non-pareils = one of God's greatest creations), but more importantly... Bee Bee Dairy.



It was a little restaurant/diner that was a local icon -- though the one at the mall closed a few years ago, there's still actually a Facebook group dedicated to the restaurant being a landmark in Mystic, Connecticut. I can remember going with my mom when we'd stop at the mall, and I remember the first time she took us there specially for the recipe I'm about to share, known as the BeeBeeFurter.

It is just what it sounds like -- a hot dog special. It was made with a foot long frankfurter (though I had to substitute in my version, since our supermarket apparently doesn't sell footlong hotdogs), and TONS of fixins, most of which were up to you to apply from the four way condiment topper that was standard with Bee Bee's fare. At my mom's urging, of course, we tried it all. Even though it sounded odd at first, we managed to fit every available topping on top of that hot dog, and regret not one second of it.

By the way, not having a footlong dog didn't really detract from this. That's because I had the one part of this "recipe" that you truly need -- a buttered and pan-toasted (fried?) bun. It gives it that delicious greasy spoon taste.

It's not that this recipe is complicated. It's not that we had it all the time (or all of our cholesterol levels would be over 300). It's not that it's hard to make or SOOO crazy. But bottom line, it's delicious. The recipe below is intentionally vague -- add or subtract as you prefer. But this is the good ol' fashioned way that WE enjoyed our BeeBeeFurters.

Ingredients
hot dog (footlong preferable)
ketchup
spicy mustard
diced onions
American cheese
bacon
relish
butter
hot dog bun

Cook hot dog -- either in butter in a pan, or boiled. I prefer boiled.

While preparing, cook bacon in microwave until very crispy -- place one piece cut into two pieces in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl, cover with paper towel, and microwave on high for two minutes. Check to see how crispy it is (different microwaves have different temperature settings), and cook for lesser intervals until crispy.


...And I mean crispy.

Melt butter in a skillet on medium. When melted, add bun. Turn to toast the other side in butter. Repeat until both sides are crispy and golden brown but not burnt.



Remove bun, and line the bottom with cheese. Set the hot dog in the bun to allow the cheese to start to melt.



Add toppings of your choice and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe #11: Rustic Dinner Omelette for Two

Sometimes there's nothing better than breakfast for dinner. Most weekends, we try to get as much sleep as we can to catch up for what we've missed during the week, and I'm rarely in the mood to get up and make a big breakfast. But this omelette, aside from being delicious, is so hearty that you can eat it for pretty much any meal. Just a note, when I say you need a cup of "meat" below, I'm purposely leaving it indiscriminate. I used leftover pork from when I made carnitas (if you want that recipe, I got it here and it came out delicious. The only difference was that my supermarket didn't have pork butt, so I used shoulder). You can use pork, , chicken, sausage (Italian, breakfast, turkey, tofurkey... anything you like), or even ground beef if that's more up your alley. Use what you have around. That's the great thing about this recipe -- most of the ingredients are things you probably already have laying around your house. Enjoy!


Rustic Dinner Omelette for Two

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 strips maple-flavored bacon (about 1/4 pound)
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups diced potatoes
3 slices of pickled jalapenos*
6 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese*
2 scallions*
5 tablespoons butter
1-2 cups meat (beef, pork, chicken, etc. as mentioned above)

Tools
large skillet*

Preheat oven to 375. Cook bacon to crisp, remove from pan to drain but do not discard liquid. Add potatoes and onions and cook til soft and translucent (about 10 minutes). Add two tablespoons of butter to pan, cook another 2 minutes. Add meat and bacon, cook for 5 minutes.



While this is cooking, crack 6 eggs into a mixing bowl, scramble. Add milk, cheese and scallions, mix.



Remove skillet from direct heat, allow to cool for two minutes. Add milk/eggs mixture to skillet, fold together carefully but do NOT stir. Top with small amount of cheese.



Place skillet directly in oven for 25 minutes. When time has passed, turn oven off, remove pan and top with three pats of butter. Place back into the oven for 3-5 minutes or until butter melts.



Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with side of sour cream (optional).

*Comments:
-Jalapenos: This just gives it a little kick. If you don't like the spice, you don't have to use them. Also, if you don't have a jar of the pickled variety around, use about a tablespoon of minced fresh jalapeno.

-Cheese: This doesn't have to be perfect, so don't bother measuring it out. Use about a handful and a half of cheese.

-Scallion: Also known as a green onion, some people think you shouldn't use the green part of a green onion. To me, that's ridiculous. It all tastes the same, and it gives the dish brightness. They're oniony but mild, and cook perfectly into this.

-Skillet: You don't need a huge pan for this -- nothing wok-sized required. My skillet was 10 inches.

Enjoy!