A Hot Dog by Any Other Name

I used to have this tradition, and I am not entirely sure how on earth it got started, that on the first warm day in spring I’d have a hot dog. It may have something to do with an old boyfriend—it sounds like a cheap date masquerading as a charming tradition.

For many years, this happened in May (and as late as June). These past couple of years the weather has been unpredictable enough that it could have easily have happened in February or March.

The trick, of course, is that I don’t really like hot dogs and instead of the common wiener, what I tend to have is a sausage in a bun with mustard.  

Frankfurter? Only this one has my heart: 

I had a cousin whose foray into the kitchen was making hot dogs and I was one of her first victims. We had cut up hot dogs with noodles. Apparently, she’d heard about it somewhere… We agreed it was pretty gross but still better than her grandmother’s cooking.

She was never much of a girlie-girl but I wonder if she'd reconsider that if we'd had a chance at a Disney Princess Dawg back then. Ah, the possibilities!

That was eons ago, and in the intervening years new and tastier products have made it to market. More importantly, options beyond mustard and ketchup have made the scene. Perhaps even surprisingly, hot dogs have been upgraded to hipster status with even bars cropping up with a variety to serve as a side dish to accompany their beers.

This week alone we will have a spring-like day, two summer-like days, and the rest of the week is a crapshoot of weather psychosis. But even if you don’t subscribe to the idea of having a hot dog the first warm day of spring, BBQ season is about to start and so is graduation season (which is a great excuse to have a hot dog party).

There are numerous international dressing/topping ideas and a couple of product reviews at the Pinterest board.