Kitchenette

Change.  It’s a funny thing.

The winds of change are blowing around here.  Not in a food-related or blog-related sense, necessarily, but our lives are changing.  I won’t share everything here now, but we are excited about what’s going on (and no, I am NOT pregnant…ack!).

Spring is coming.  Spring WILL come.  And even that is change enough for me.

This morning, I am sitting with the laptop enjoying the sunshine streaming through my windows and baking cookies for something at church this weekend (chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar, and World Peace cookies - all Dorie recipes, in case you’re curious).  The sunshine creeps in, and suddenly I am daring to believe that things just might be different.  That I can put myself out there, and that good things will happen.  That’s what spring does to me.

So, with all this talk of spring, why am I sharing our Valentine’s Day with you (I know, I know - a good blogger would’ve made their V-Day dinners early so they could post about them on Valentine’s Day itself, but I am a certified Bad Blogger, so you get it now, nigh St. Patty’s day)?

See, Mr. K and I are not big on Valentine’s Day.  Love shouldn’t be mandated by a greeting card company and, in reality, is just as valid and special on, say, March 14th as it is on February 14th, October 23rd, or whatever.  In fact, we are so cynical about the silliness of Valentine’s that we have a long-standing tradition of celebrating it in this manner:

That’s right.  Portillo’s.

If Tony Bourdain has taught me anything, it’s that every major locale has it’s own spin on meat in its tubular form.  And while I think Chicago-style pizza is highly overrated, Portillo’s = best.  hot dogs.  ever.

This is a true Chicago hot dog.  It is apparently blasphemous for a Chicagoan to include ketchup on a Chicago-style hot dog, but I have never done anything this city has told me to, so I say go for it!  In fact, I find most “true Chicagoans” to be so obnoxious about these hot dogs that I eat nothing but ketchup on my Portillo’s dogs.  Oh the horror!  This isn’t exactly a “real” recipe persay, but if you want to feel like a true Chicagoan, fix yourself one of these and share it with the one you love.

Chicago-Style Hot Dog
A la Portillo’s

• All-beef hot dog
•  Poppy seed bun
• Mustard
• Chopped onion
• Sweet pickle relish
• Sliced tomatoes
• Sport peppers
• A dash of celery salt
• An entire dill pickle spear

Boil or steam the dog - buying a decent brand is important here.  I understand that hot dogs barely classify as consumable food, but try to get one that at least tastes like meat, not rubber.  Steaming the bun for a little while makes it nice and soft, too.

Top with remaining ingredients, with pickle spear on top.  Enjoy, and Let’s Go Cubbies!