Happy Dog

If you live near Cleveland and you haven’t been to Happy Dog, you should know that you are missing out.  Located in the Gordon Arts District, Happy Dog has become one of our go-to Cleveland restaurant destinations.

Happy Dog Menu

The idea is that you get a hot dog and as many toppings as can fit on top of the dog.  I don’t just mean mustard, onions, chili and coleslaw*. I’m talking things like Oaxacan Red Chile and Chocolate Mole Sauce, Bacon Spiked Southern Greens, Habanero Hot Sauce from Momocho, and Warm Pineapple-Ginger-Currant Chutney.

Dog with Spanish Onions, Habanero Hot Sauce, Mole Sauce, and Housemade Peanut Butter. Tots with a side of Chimichurri Sauce

When you sit down at your table there is a notepad that has the menu selections, a cup of golf pencils and a laminated card that has some “Suggestive Wieners”.  You simply check off if you want a hot dog or a vegan sausage and the toppings you want. If you flip your paper over you will see your next tough choice. Fries or Tots.  It’s never a bad idea to go with the tots and there is a selection of sauces that you can pick from. For another $1 you can add from a variety of cheeses, chilis, and an egg to your potatoes.

One of the suggestive wieners. It has "Everything Bagel" Cream Cheese, Southern spiked Greens, and hot sauce.

We have never been disappointed. My last trip there I discovered the Brazilian Chimichurri sauce as a dip for my tots. It was so good that when I ran out of tots I was eating the sauce with my spoon. There are endless combinations for your hot dog and it has a really nice dive bar ambiance. Not as in “EEW, my feet are sticking to the floor!” but as in the waitresses all wear punk band T-Shirts and it looks like the building has always been the neighborhood bar. It’s a great restaurant in an area  that has really seen a lot of growth in the past few years.  If you’re looking for a bite to eat in Cleveland, you’ve gotta try Happy Dog!

*Please note: Ketchup was deliberately left off this list. Everybody knows it  does not belong on hot dogs.

Salad days

If you know me, you know that I equally love incredibly healthy food and over the top unhealthy food. Lately the scales have been tipped in favor of unhealthy food, so we made the decision to try to eat salad once a week. There are some things to keep in mind when turning to salad as a healthy option:

• Watch the dressing. If you douse the salad with unhealthy dressings you are running counterproductive to your goal. I try to make my own dressing. It’s easier that you would ever think, and soon you will be wondering why you ever bought dressing in the first place.
• Add some protein. Since we are making this a main dish, I find that adding some meat makes it more filling. Of course if you are a Vegetarian you can pick your favorite veggie based protein.

Cobb Salad

Making Your Own Dressing

The most basic vinaigrette consists of four ingredients: Oil, Vinegar, Salt, and Pepper. I usually add a little bit of dijon mustard to make it emulsify nicely. The basic proportion is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (vinegar). Be a miser with the salt and a crazy man with the pepper. Once you get this down, you can play around and make all kinds of variations. You can add fresh herbs, or even replace some of the vinegar with citrus juice. It can turn into an Asian vinaigrette with the addition of some soy and sesame oil.

Greek Salad

Salad Topping Ideas
Here are some ideas to get started. A Build Your Own Salad Bar is always fun and allows everyone to have the toppings they want.

• Artichoke Hearts
• Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Kalamata Olives
• Feta Cheese
• Blue Cheese
• Apples and Pears
• Berries
• Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds etc…)
• Mandarin Oranges
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Snow Peas
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Chickpeas
• Corn
• Black Beans
• Taco Meat (Use Lean Ground Turkey)

Asian Salad with Flank Steak

Kitchen Tips: Pantry For The Beginning Home Cook

I know, I know. I promised myself I was going to blog every week. Wanna hear my excuse? It’s not because I haven’t been cooking, in fact I’ve been cooking more than ever. I’ve even been developing my own recipes, and I have a whole folder that includes what will hopefully become an award winning chili. So why no blogging? Here is my confession…food blogs should have pictures. Gorgeous, colorful pictures that make you wish you could reach into the computer and taste the food being shown.  I don’t have a nice enough camera to take photos of my food, so I sort of started to ignore my blog. But then I had an epiphany. MFK Fisher didn’t need photographs to be the best food writer ever*, so why not let my English degree work for me a little bit while I wait to get a camera? So I’m back. Hopefully this time to stay.

And this week I bring you some simple kitchen tips regarding what to keep in the pantry. Much of this may seem common sense, and experienced cooks will probably be bored reading it, however for those who are just starting to experiment in the kitchen you will find that with these ingredients on hand you will always be able to whip up something amazing.  Here is my annotated list.

Eggs-Frittatas and Omelettes make beautiful dinners especially if you have a bunch of leftover produce you need to use. The varieties are endless and you can experiment with all kinds of spices and herbs. Also having eggs on hand means baked goods, like cookies. (For an example Frittata recipe check out this post from 101 cookbooks.)

Spices-Build a good collection of spices. I find that spices at CostPlus World Market are that rare blend of cheap but decent quality.  It can be expensive to buy them all at the same time so pick a few different ones each trip. The spices I use most are: Cumin, Coriander, Chipotle Chili Powder, Chili Powder, Sun brand Madras Curry Powder, Crushed Red Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper.

Butter-The real stuff. Your cookies will thank you. Also mix room temp butter with an equal amount of flour to create a beurre manie that will thicken your sauces and soups nicely.

Olive Oil-Find a good mid-level olive oil for everyday use. The expensive olive oil is better for dipping and drizzling as a sauce.

Pasta-I try to keep several varieties on hand. My favorites are Penne,Campanelle, and Orrichette

Milk-Combine with eggs and you have the basis for custard which will help you create a variety of sweet and savory dishes.

Good Cheese-Fontina, Aged Cheddar, Gruyere all make dishes that would be boring with velveeta or american sing. And I always have a big chunk of Parmesan in the fridge for sprinkling over pasta dishes.

Sugar- With sugar, eggs, flour and butter you will be able to create baked masterpieces in a moments notice. Bonus if you always have a bag of chocolate chips on hand.

Canned beans-Technically this should be dried beans which are cheaper and healthier, but I haven’t figured out how to cook and freeze dried beans so I usually have cans of black beans, kidney beans,  garbanzo beans,  and white beans. Remember to rinse your beans in cold water to get rid of the excess sodium.

Rice-My favorite rice to keep on hand is Lundberg Short Grain Brown, but any rice will do and if you’re feeling adventurous you can keep a variety on hand. Others that I keep on hand include Basmati and Jasmine

Canned Tomatoes-I keep a variety of can sizes on hand. Some 28 oz. cans of whole and diced tomatoes for sauce and chilis, some 14.5 oz. cans for smaller dishes and as secondary ingredients. I’m partial to Muir Glen’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes, which pack a lot of flavor.

Fresh Garlic-Garlic in a jar and garlic powder can’t match the flavor that is offered by fresh cloves.

Flour-Unbleached, all purpose. For baked goods like breads and cookies there is no better than King Arthur’s Flour.

So what kinds of last minute dinners can you make with these ingredients?

• Sauteed chickpeas tossed with olive oil, pasta, and Parmesan cheese.
• Beans and Rice (Experiement with spices to find the flavor you want)
• Cheese Omelette
• Vegetable Frittata
• Homemade Mac and Cheese
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Vegetarian Chili
• Shortbread Cookies
• Muffins
• Pancakes

*I’m not insinuating that I have the talent of Ms. Fisher. I do not. yet.

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year! For Beer!

When I was in high school I remember seeing an advertisement for Stuart Weitzman shoes in which the tagline was “We’re a little obsessed with shoes”.  Lately I think I’m becoming a little obsessed with food. Of course, I can’t really be blamed since the time between  Thanksgiving to New Year is pretty much one collective excuse to obsess about food.

What’s the next best part of the holiday season? The Booze! If you’re in Northeast Ohio you probably know about the sweet, sweet nectar known as Great Lakes Christmas Ale. It’s brewed with honey, ginger and cinnamon and as is befitting a holiday brew it has a high alcohol content. If you didn’t get a six pack this year, you’re probably out of luck, but there’s always next year. (When you should just pick up a whole case.)

Liquor isn’t just for drinking during the season.  While shopping for groceries, I noticed the assortment of holiday foods with  liquor. Fruitcakes, brandy hard sauce, rum balls and rum cakes lined the shelves. I realized that during the holiday season, not only is is socially acceptable to add booze to anything you cook…it is almost expected.  So I went to work on two projects: Beer Caramel Sauce and Aged Egg Nog.

A Celebration of Picnics

It is late October, and though the weather is starting to turn,  I think we may still have a few days of Indian Summer ahead of us.  I’m looking forward to this because there is no better way to celebrate such a day than with a picnic. I love picnics. I’m the kind of person who will spend a week agonizing over just the right picnic menu for a road trip just so we don’t have to stop at a McDonalds.  And, it should be noted, my picnic sandwiches stay far away from the Wonder bread and bologna*.  My standard is a creamy French cheese like Brie or Camembert combined with a good ham or roast beef on a baguette.  No condiment, just the delicious simplicity of really good meat, cheese, and bread.

But picnics aren’t just for road trips.  Anytime I encounter a beautiful vista I am inclined to say  “This spot would be perfect for a picnic.”  When I was in Vermont,  home of fantastic artisanal cheese and meat, and surrounded by beautiful  mountains and water, I was in picnic heaven. We decided to have a Ploughman’s lunch at Shelburne Farms. We purchased some cheese**, bread, olives, and ham from a local Burlington market and drove over to Shelburne. We arrived hungry, but after looking at the map I realized that the best place for our picnic was probably on the highest point of the property.  I found our path and forward we trudged.   “Trust me, it will be worth it!”  I said as the hunger dug in. And then we stepped out into this:

Photo by Josh

It was glorious. Eating delicious food surrounded by mountains and looking at Lake Champlain, it was the perfect depiction of everything that makes me want to move to Vermont.  And it was the perfect place for a picnic. I’ll even give you another picture just in case you weren’t completely convinced.

Photo by Josh

And now that it is Fall, the scenery in Ohio is beautiful and it is apple season.  So go grab some aged cheddar from Holmes county, some apples and cider from Brants,  and celebrate those few days of Indian summer with a Ploughman’s lunch of your own.

*  No offense to those who like Bologna. Even when I was little it was my least favorite lunch meat.
** I stand by my assertion that Morbier is a stinky cheese whose bark is worse than its bite, and is actually quite delicious.

Vermonster Madness

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Vermont?  There’s a good chance that you think of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. These two friends took a correspondence course on ice cream making in 1977, then  in 1978 they opened the first Ben and Jerry’s scoop shop in a renovated gas station in downtown Burlington.  In 1980 they started packing it pints, and now you can find their ice cream all over the world.

When I was planning our trip to Vermont, I made sure to include a stop at the number one tourist attraction in the state, The Ben and Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury.  Before we even stepped through the door we had made a decision. We decided that the four of us were going to take on the Vermonster. 20 scoops of ice cream, 4 ladles of hot fudge, 4 bananas, 3 cookies, 1 brownie, 10 scoops of nut, 4 toppings and whipped cream.  (Although ours was modified a bit with 2 bananas and fewer nuts)

They told us to pick 4 or 5 flavors, that more than that would overwhelm the sundae. So, We all picked our favorite flavors, me going with the classic Phish Food. And this is what we were served:

The Vermonster (Photo by Sam)

A decadent bucket of Ice Cream. It was an exercise in American excess and we knew we were going to lose, but we had to give it a shot. We had been counting on Josh to be our secret weapon, and knew we were in trouble when Josh said he was feeling full and although we had been eating and eating no dent  seemed to have been made.

Sam Digs In (Photo by Josh)

After a while it turned into a soupy mess, but still we soldiered on.

Brian takes a big bite (Photo by Sam)

In the end we were left sick and full , yet ice cream remained in the bottom of the bucket. As was predicted we had been beaten, but we were not surprised. We discarded the disgusting looking remnants of the sundae and kept the bucket as a souvenir of our failure and fun at the Ben and Jerry’s factory.

Michigan in New York?

 

When I went on vacation last month, I told my travelling companions that I had a foodie field trip lined up for us. “When we go to Plattsburgh, we have to get Michigans.” This was met with a “say what? Michgans in New York, I’m confused and why does the sign say Red Hots? What’s a  Red Hot?”

To an untrained eye, A Michigan alternately known as a “Red Hot” pretty much looks like a Chili Dog, and that’s basically what it is. What makes it a Michigan is the sauce, the way it is served, and most importantly Where it is served.  A traditional Michigan has a hot dog in a steamed bun covered with Michigan Sauce  with a stripe of mustard and chopped onions on top. If you ask for the onions to be “buried” they will be put on under the dog. The name Michigan is indiginous to the Adirondack area around Lake Champlain, and is specifically associated with Plattsburgh, New York.

So how did the name Michigan make it to Plattsburgh?  There is no definitive answer, but in a 2006 article* in Gourmet magazine, Jane and Michael Stern track down some of the possible origins. They cite an old article in the Plattsburgh Press-Republican that claims a cook from Jackson, Michigan invented the sauce. Another article posted at Clare & Carls Hot Dog Stand, this one from the Plattsburgh Daily Press, states that Eula Otis, a Michigander and friend of owner Clare Warns would visit area restaurants and say “I’m from Michican, Would you like to try one of our Chili Dogs?” Although there might not be consensus on how the Michigan name made it to New York, there is consensus that they are delicious and worth tracking down.

Clare & Carls Michigan Stand

The first Michigans on our list were from “Clare and Carl’s”. Located on Rt. 9, The building has been there since 1942 and the T-shirts available for purchase playfully reference the fact that the building is sort of leaning to one side.  Carhop service was available, but we opted to sit at the counter. 

Read about the dogs after the jump.