Dante's Inferno Hot Dogs 3.21 Here Comes the Son

“This your place?” “The Inferno? Yes.” “It's nice.”

*Note* Because there are many components, I have grouped the ingredients and directions together for ease of following along. All of these recipes make at least enough topping for 8 hot dogs. You will need hot dog buns for each variation.

For the Limbo Classic Hot Dog with Homemade Ketchup:

*Note* I don’t like ketchup, so this is definitely more like a tomato sauce, so if you like ketchup and are recreating this menu, you can just use storebought ketchup or find a different homemade recipe (might I recommend Brad Bake’s recipe).

Ingredients:

• 3 large tomatoes, diced

• 6 oz tomato paste

• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• 1 tsp pepper

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• ½ tsp celery seed

• ½ tsp mustard powder

• 2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add the tomatoes and blend until smooth.

2. Place a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the blended tomatoes and tomato paste and whisk until fully combined.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and whisk until fully combined.

4. Allow the sauce to reach a boil then reduce the heat to the lowest setting.

5. Cover the pot and allow to simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

6. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. Carefully add the ketchup and any preferred hot dog condiments. I added diced onions to mine.

Limbo Hot Dog with homemade ketchup and onions.

For the Lust French Onion Dip Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 small white onion, diced

• 1 cup sour cream

• ¼ cup mayonnaise

• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp pepper

• 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced.

Directions:

1. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter.

2. Once the butter has completely melted, add the onions. Sauté for about 20 minutes to allow the onions to caramelize. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

3. Once caramelized, remove the onions from the heat and allow to cool completely.

4. In a medium bowl, add the sour cream, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir until fully combined.

5. Fold in the caramelized onions and chives.

6. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. Scoop the French onion dip onto the hot dog.

Lust hot dog with French onion dip.

For the Gluttony Bacon and Brown Sugar Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• 1 slice of bacon per hot dog you are making

• 1 tbsp brown sugar per hot dog you are making

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Wrap each hot dog with a slice of bacon.

3. Once wrapped in bacon, place into a baking dish.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar over the hot dogs.

5. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until the brown sugar caramelizes and the bacon is fully cooked.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Remove from oven and place in buns.

Gluttony hot dog with bacon and brown sugar.

For the Greed Pesto Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves

• ½ cup baby spinach

• ½ cup Parmesan-Reggiano (plus more for serving )

• ⅓ cup pine nuts

• 3 cloves of garlic

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tbsp lemon juice

• ½ cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Add the basil, spinach, cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and salt to a food processor. Pulse until a thick paste forms.

2. Add the lemon juice and slowly add in the olive oil. Blend until smooth.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. Spoon pesto onto the hot dog. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Greed Hot Dog with pesto and parmesan cheese.

For the Wrath Tropical Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• 1 mango, peeled, cored, and diced

• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

• ⅓ cup tomato, diced

• ¼ cup red onion, diced

• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

• ½ tsp chili powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• ¼ tsp red pepper chili flakes

• 2 tbsp lime juice

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, add the mango, avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, and garlic. Stir to combine.

2. Add the seasonings and lime juice and stir again to combine.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. Scoop mango salsa on top of the hot dog.

Wrath Hot Dog with mango salsa.

For the Heresy Spicy Pepper Relish Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups spicy peppers, finely diced (use a variety for the most flavor).

• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

• ⅛ cup sugar

• 1cloves garlic chopped

• ¼ cup small onion chopped

• 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seed

• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a large pan and heat to medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a light boil.

2. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 25-30 minutes, or until liquid is reduced and absorbed into the mixture.

3. Allow the relish to fully cool

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. For an extra spicy hot dog, top with sriracha. Then scoop relish on top of the hot dog.

Heresy Hot Dog with spicy pepper relish.

For the Violence Onion Ring Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• 1 small white onion, sliced into thin rings

• 1 cup tempura batter

• ¾ cup cold water

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the tempura batter mix and cold water until fully combined. There will be some small lumps in the batter.

2. Dip the onion rings into the batter and ensure the onion is fully coated.

3. Keep all coated onions on a plate until you are ready to fry.

4. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and enough oil to the pan to about ¼ inch.

5. To test to see if the oil is hot enough, drop a bit of the leftover batter into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready.

6. Work in batches by adding a few onion rings to the oil at a time. Let fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to blot dry. Sprinkle with salt after removing from oil.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. Add your sauce of choice to the hot dog (I used the vegan creamy sauce below). Add a few onion rings on top.

Violence Hot Dog with onion rings.

For the Fraud Vegan Hot Dog:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup vegan mayonnaise

• 2 tbsp vegan ketchup (I used the recipe above)

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and stir until combined.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill vegan hot dogs and place in buns. Spoon the sauce on top of the hot dog.

Fraud Hot Vegan Hot Dog with creamy vegan sauce.

For the Treachery Chili Dog:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Small white onion, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 lb ground beef

• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• ¼ cup ketchup

• 1 ½ tbsp chili powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• ½ tsp oregano

• ½ tsp mustard powder

• ¼ tsp cayenne powder

• Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Place a large stockpot over medium heat and add the olive oil.

2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until soft and fragrant.

3. Add the ground beef to the pot, making sure to finely mince the meat as it cooks. Allow to cook for about 8 minutes or until the beef is browned.

4. Add the can of tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and spices. Stir until fully combined.

5. Cover the pot and allow to simmer for about 25 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

Hot Dog Assembly:

1. Grill hot dogs and place in buns. Scoop chili on top of hot dog. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.

Treachery Hot Dog with chili and cheddar cheese.

I’m actually pretty proud of the creativity behind these hot dogs. The idea of doing 9 variations of hot dogs based on the 9 circles of hell from Dante’s Inferno came to me in the middle of the night when I couldn’t fall back to sleep. If you aren’t familiar with the poem, the Inferno is the first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Dante is lead through 9 circles of hell by Virgil, an ancient Roman poet. Each circle focuses on a particular sin and has a punishment to fit that crime. The first circle is Limbo, so I wanted to do a simple and classic hot dog. The second circle is Lust, and while French Onion Dip isn’t exactly romantic, it has the word French in it, which is romantic so just go with me here!

As Dante moves further into hell, he reaches the third circle, gluttony. And what says gluttony better than bacon? For the fourth circle, greed, I went back to one of my favorite flavors, basil pesto. With greed, we think of green money. Pesto is also rich in flavor. Dante first encounters the River Styx in the fifth circle, wrath. Even though rivers aren’t tropical, water is, so that’s where the tropical theme came from. Again, just go with me here! The punishment for the sixth circle, heresy is eternal entrapment in flaming tombs, so obviously I had to do a spicy dog for this one.

The seventh circle, violence, is divided into three rings, so onion rings were the first thing I thought of for this hot dog. The eighth circle is fraud, and what better fraud than a vegan dog that is pretending to be a beef hot dog? The last circle of hell is the most severe, treachery. This circle is completely frozen over. You might say it’s pretty chilly(i) down there. I’d like to imagine that Jimmy’s hot dog stand had a menu of 9 hot dogs for the 9 circles of hell, but if it wasn’t, now he has some ideas.

Happy Cooking from the Hollow!

Dante's Inferno Hot Dogs!

If you missed what I made last week, catch up here!