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Pauline's Lucky Pickle Relish Dogs

Source of Recipe

From "A Good Meal is Hard to Find" by Amy Evans and Martha Foose


Recipe Introduction

"Pauline collected lucky charms. After filling five bracelets, they were starting to get in the way of her letter writing, so she began sending charms to strangers. Pauline looked for interesting names in the phone book and Sunday classifieds, then mailed off a short hello with a charm sewn to the top of a monogrammed notecard. In the ten years since she started her charm-sharing campaign, Pauline has received dozens of replies. Only once did she ever receive a charm in return."

List of Ingredients

Pickle Relish:
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
â—¦ ¾ cup distilled white vinegar
â—¦ 2 tablespoons cane sugar
â—¦ â…› teaspoon dried dill, or ¼ teaspoon chopped fresh dill
â—¦ Pinch of red pepper flakes
â—¦ 1 English cucumber, seeded and cut into small dice (about 2 cups)
â—¦ â…“ cup finely chopped red onion
â—¦ â…“ cup finely chopped orange bell pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon water

Hot Dogs:
â—¦ 8 top-split hot dog buns
â—¦ 8 skinless beef frankfurters
â—¦ Store-bought yellow mustard


Recipe

To make the relish:
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook until the seeds begin to pop and scoot about the skillet. Add your vinegar, sugar, dill, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and let the liquid reduce by half, 5 to 8 minutes. Add your cucumber, onion, and bell pepper. Boil for 2 minutes. Stir in your cornstarch and water. Boil for 1 minute. Transfer the relish to a jar and allow it to cool completely before covering and refrigerating.

Prepare the hot dogs:
Toast your buns. Butterfly your hot dogs by cutting them in half lengthwise, leaving the two sides still connected. Sear them cut-side down on a grill (or griddle). Flip the dogs over and cook until heated through. Assemble your hot dogs, spooning relish down the center of each. Give each a squirt of yellow mustard and wait for the applause.

Makes 8 relish dogs