The Boulevard Dog
Why I Love This Recipe
This is a riff on a seriously good hot dog I had recently at a local restaurant. The chef told me that when he caters swank affairs, people in black tie and evening gowns pass up the pate and sushi for one of these dogs - I can see why.
Ingredients You'll Need
4 quarter-pound all-beef hot dogs
4 ciabatta rolls or 1 long loaf of French bread
2 onions, sliced
4 oz premium bleu cheese, crumbled
1 ripe tomato, sliced
2 tbsp butter
garlic, arugula, dijon mustard, olive oil and salt to taste
Directions
Set a saute pan over low heat; melt the butter until foaming subsides. Add onions and sweat, stirring regularly. The onions should not take on any color - this is a long process. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring, for upwards of a half hour, or until onions turn a deep brown color and are sticky. Remove to a clean bowl and reserve.
Split the hot dogs lengthwise down the middle, opening each dog up like a butterfly. Split the ciabatta rolls or French bread as well.
Set the gas grill to medium-high or build a charcoal fire in the grill and create a two-level fire. Place the hot dogs and the bread, split-side down, on the grill and cook, keeping constant watch. The bread will toast up first; remove to plate, and while the dogs finish, rub the warm bread with cut garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot dogs have finished (about three minutes total), remove from grill.
To build your sandwich, take bottom half of bread, spread on dijon mustard, place arugula, tomato slices, and hot dog. Top with caramelized onions and 1 oz each bleu cheese. Top with top half of bun.
The residual heat should be enough to melt the cheese, but if not, wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil and put back on the grill for a few seconds, preferably over low heat or the cool side of the grill. Please only use ripe, in season tomatoes. If all you've got is mealy supermarket specimens, just leave them out.
I won't wait in line for anything for much longer than five minutes, but I'd wait in line for one of these.
