3rd Annual Hotdog Hoe Down!

It was that time of year again!  Time for our Annual Hot Dog Hoe Down!

To read about our 1st Annual Hoe Down, Click HERE 

To read about our 2nd Annual Hoe Down, Click HERE 

Jill outdid herself!  She is truly the hostess with the mostest!  She got the cutest little food tags and decorated the table with bandanas AND she even got a hot dog trophy- priceless!

This year's dogs and contestants were as follows:

Pepe Dog by Jill

Hercules Dog by Eric

Mac and Cheese Dog by Greer

Taste of Sicily Dog by Gordon

Big Mac Dog by Rob and

Breakfast Dog by Me

 We started the night outside and the kids got plenty of pool time in!  (and a surprise visit by the Ice Cream Truck!)

and then we prepped our dogs, ate and judged!

Greer's Mac and Cheese Dog- pretty self-explanatory!

Rob's Big Mac Dog which included thousand island dressing, pickles, onions and cheese on a sesame seed bun- very authentic!

 I made some yummy Baked Beans so we had a good side dish- everyone loved them- the perfect mix of sweet and savory.  Check out the recipe HERE

My Breakfast Dog- complete with scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese all stuffed into a croissant!

Jill's Pepe Dog- here she is putting the finishing touches on it!

Jill made the dog that her dad made when she was growing up- her dad passed this past year- it has been tough for her.  His spirit was with us and we all got to enjoy his recipe which was complete with mustard, onions and celery salt on a buttered and toasted bun! 

Gordon's Taste of Sicily Dog which was complete with sauce, provolone cheese and pepperoni

Eric's Hercules Dog which was complete with Tzatziki, Cucumber, Feta, Tomatoes and Olives

and Alice got in on the action this year with her Everything Dog complete with ketchup, mustard, tomatoes and butter ;)

Ben was a big fan of the Big Mac Dog!

 and the winner was.....

JILL!

The Pepe Dog took first place!  It was delish and a great tribute!

 (Here she is with the famous/infamous trophy!) Ha ha!!

After dinner, the kids did some more horsing around while we chilled and enjoyed the weather....

(This picture, as we say, is foreshadowing of high school- eek!)

(and this is what started as Eric's new shed...it is now "Mantown" worthy and the guys are envious! Rob is loving life up there)

Love this tradition we started a few years back and I really hope we continue it for years to come! Yee Haw!

2nd Annual Hot Dog Hoe Down!

We started this tradition last year.  My friend Greer, who is pretty much a chef, crafted the idea and a tradition was born.

Last year, her Coney Island Chili Dog won our contest.  Last year, the wives did most of the cooking and then we blindfolded our hubbies and they judged.

The six types of dogs last year were

Coney Island Chili Dog (Greer)

Poutine Dog (Gordon)

Chip and Dip Dog (Jill)

BBQ Dog (Jill)

White Chicken Chili Dog (Holly)

Salsa Dog (Rob)

This year, we did it a little differently.

No men were blindfolded- all the adults ate together- taste tested all the dogs and then voted by blind ballot. 

This year's dogs included:
Curry Dog with Potatoes and Onions (Jill)
Buffalo Dog with Blue Cheese and Celery (Jill)
Reuben Dog (Greer)
Bacon, Jalapeno Cheese Dog (Gordon)
Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Dog (Holly)
Pimento Cheese and Ritz Cracker Dog (Holly)

All the above recipes are pretty self-explanatory.  Jill made a simple yellow curry sauce and before putting the dogs in the buns, she had sauteed potatoes and onions and put some in each bun, then topped them with the dog and curry sauce.

For the Buffalo Dog, she made a very hot buffalo sauce and when she was putting the dogs in the buns, she topped them with the sauce, blue cheese crumbles and chopped celery.

Greer's Reuben dog had pastrami, sauerkraut, homemade Russian dressing and Swiss like a true Reuben!

Gordon's dog had bacon stuffed in the buns and the dogs themselves were stuffed with jalapeno Monterrey jack cheese.  He then topped them with mustard.

My dogs were very easy.  For the Blue Cheese Dog, I topped the dog with blue cheese spread, blue cheese crumbles and added the caramelized vidalia onions that I made.

The Pimento Ritz dog was just that- topped with pimento cheese and crushed Ritz crackers.

They were all DELISH but proud to say that Jill and I tied for 1st place this year- her curry dog and my blue cheese dog won first place- WOOHOO!!

We snapped some of the action and fun!
Great night- next year we are starting with a trophy tradition to kick it up a notch!

               

1st Annual "Hot Dog Hoedown" Hosted by the Grahams

1st Annual "Hot Dog Hoedown" Hosted by the Grahams

It started out with onion relish.  Yep.  Greer always amazes people with the food she makes.  When we had a "Thank You" party for Rob last summer (to thank all of our friends who volunteered on his school board campaign) Greer brought a tray of homemade condiments to compliment our burgers and dogs.  One of the awesome things she made was this Coney Island Onion Relish.  Well Eric died and went to heaven.  Jill told us, during the Memorial Day parade this year, that Eric would not stop talking about that onion relish and he was begging her to make it.

Well that is all Greer needed to hear.  She emailed us both the recipe and said "we should have a cook off sometime!"  Jill took that opportunity to invite us over to their brand new home and brand new pool and suggested we do the cookoff poolside.

Greer then stayed on us to set a date and so we did- it was last night.  She also came up with the idea to make competing toppings for hot dogs.  The three of us would each make two toppings and then the husbands would judge (blindfolded of course).  

Greer made a chili to complete the "Coney Island Chili Dog" as well as Poutin (which is a French Canadian topping of french fries, cheese curd and gravy).  

Jill made teriyaki dogs complete with sauce and grilled pineapple as well as French Onion Dip and Chip Dogs

I made my homemade White Chicken Chili for the dogs and I had Rob make his homemade salsa for salsa and cheese dogs

We had an absolute BALL and so many laughs....Jill's homemade margaritas helped with the giggles

Before the cookoff, the kiddos enjoyed the pool and we chilled

Then Eric got the firepit started.  After the kiddos ate their plain dogs, they toasted marshmallows and made s'mores

While the dudes were supervising the kiddos (well Eric did most of the supervising), the ladies were busy preparing the dogs in the kitchen

and then the contest...we blindfolded them...hysterical!

and the winner was Greer and her Coney Island Chili Dog!!!  (no surprise, she is unbelievable chef- if you follow the blog, you already know that)

and the night was a huge success...lots of laughs and time spent with good friends...I love Summer!

and by the way, don't drink and grill ;)