Hotdog Sundaes

 

You know what the worst kind of day is? The worst kind of day is when you're hungry after a long day of doing absolutely nothing, and you shuffle over to the fridge for sustenance only to realize that your leftovers are unappetizing, you're not in the mood for pasta, and everything else that is cook-able is iced over in the freezer. Big time bummer.

So what can you do? Order out? A viable option, but that can get expensive. Go grocery shopping? No way, that would totally defeat the purpose of your lazy do-nothing day. Plus, it's cold out right now. That leaves you with option #3: rummage through your fridge/pantry, grab anything that catches your eye, throw it all together, and hope it's delicious. That's how Dan and I ended up eating hotdog sundaes for dinner last night.

 

Hotdog sundaes, you say? Disgusting! Unfathomable! HOW COULD YOU?! That's how I reacted the first time Karen told me about the special treat her mom used to make for her and her brothers. I pictured a standard sundae with bananas, ice cream, chopped up hotdog bits, and ketchup/mustard on top. Gross. Fortunately, Karen's mom is not a lunatic, and hotdog sundaes are not at all what I was imagining. For one thing, they're not meant to be a dessert. Thank god.  

In this delightfully-named concoction, hotdogs (in a bun) take the place of bananas, and scoops of ice cream are replaced with scoops of mashed potatoes. Shredded cheese is sprinkled on in place of jimmies, and gravy (if you're so inclined) is drizzled instead of fudge or caramel. The end result should look like a seriously loaded street dog. Yum!

Hotdog Sundaes (Courtesy of Karen)

When I made this last night for dinner, I didn't have hotdog buns, so I sliced up a baguette and slathered  the pieces with garlic and herb butter. And, in order to spread out my two remaining turkey sausages, I chopped them into small pieces and layered those on top of the bread. Topped off with buttery green onion mashed potatoes and cheese, then toasted in the oven, these were absolutely scrumptious. If I were to serve them as an appetizer (and I definitely will), I would have to reduce the proportions of each component a lot more, because even in last night's reduced form these sundaes were a huge mouthful -- two or three mouthfuls, actually.

Ingredients: (1 sundae)

- 1 hotdog or sausage, cooked

- 1 hotdog bun, buttered
- 1 cup mashed potatoes, cooked
- Shredded cheese for sprinkling
- Gravy, if desired.

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 350
(2) Fully cook hotdog/sausage. Place inside hotdog bun.
(3) Using an ice cream scoop, generously heap hotdog with mashed potatoes. I like homemade chunky mashed potatoes with butter, garlic, and green onions, but instant mashed potatoes are good too.
(4) Place sundae on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with as much cheese as desired.
(5) Toast in oven for about 5 minutes.
(6) Serve plain or with gravy.
** For appetizer-sized sundaes, you can either chop up all the buns/dogs into small pieces like Karen usually does, or go with the baguette-layering route like I did last night.