Labor Day. A well-deserved celebration for all who have worked or are still, currently, working. Today, the actual holiday is the final day of this three-day holiday weekend that, in addition to honoring workers, marks the end of the summer season.
The end of summer. Hmmm. Strangely, this got me thinking about hot dogs.
When I was a kid, I pretty much only wanted to eat hot dogs (and Oreos, another story, another time). My dad, a foodie well before that was even a term, liked everything so dinner time meals were always a wide range of cuisine. Didn’t matter to my unsophisticated palate … I was a hot dog devotee.
Fast forward to adulthood and the realization that hot dogs may not be the most nutritious food. This awareness didn’t change my love of frankfurters, just how often I ate them. And that is where the summer season, defined as the months between Memorial Weekend and Labor Day, shines for me. It is a license to eat hot dogs.
In the three months between these two holidays, known as hot dog season, more than 7 billion are eaten by Americans (according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council), about 800 per second. This is attributed to a number of factors: July is National Hot Dog Month, people taking vacations, as well as an increase in backyard barbecues.
Disclaimer here: I eat one each on Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day! And I mix it up. Chicken, turkey, all beef, sausage, foot longs, corn dogs; I like them boiled, grilled, pan or deep fried. And I’ve been known to just buy one at Costco … the convenience, and the yumminess, are hard to pass up.
My favorite, however, is the way my Baba used to make them for me. She’d pan fry them in butter, slice them to fit between two pieces of her home made bread and then slather with a little ketchup. The heat of the hog dog warmed up the ketchup and softened the bread, just a perfect taste sensation and one of my fondest childhood food memories!
So today, in tribute to my Baba, my dog day afternoon will be celebrated with an adaptation of her signature style with a few twists of my own. I’ll add a dollop of sweet pickle relish and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, complemented by a cold beer!
As the summer season comes to a close, so does hot dog season. I’m resigned to putting my desire for a dawg on hold, held at bay by an eager anticipation of next year’s season.