Cinco de Mayo Sonoran Hot Dogs

Posted on 05/04/2012 by Walter Blevins

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo!  As my contribution, I’m sharing my Cheap Bastid version of a terrific Mexican creation–the Sonoran Hot Dog.  This is something just a bit different for a lot of folks on this annual festival of Mexico.  But give them a try, you’ll become addicted. 

I love Coney Dogs—a hot dog swimming in an ooze of chili.  And I love Chicago Dogs—a concoction that’s a salad on a dog complete with iridescent green relish.  My daughter always insisted on “naked hot dogs”–a plain hot dog in a bun.  But now, I lust after Sonoran Dogs.

What makes them so different from other “Dogs”?  One word:  bacon.  Yes, bacon.  Visualize a hot dog wrapped in crispy bacon, just waiting to be slathered with a host of toppings that will create a fiesta in your tastebuds.  Wow!  You’re going to like these.

The Tucson Citizen described Sonoran Hot Dogs as being “like a chili dog on steroids”.  I disagree.  I think they’re more like a Chicago Dog in afterburner.

Now, I don’t know where I came across these, but Sonoran Hot Dogs rule in Tucson and Phoenix and they’re making inroads here in San Diego and in L.A.  They first appeared in the Sonoran capital of Hermosillo in the 60’s and erupted across the border in the 80’s.  Now, they’re a staple of lunch-time and bar-closing time in the Southwest.

I’m doing the Cheap Bastid version of this recipe and find that I can get 90% of the taste for 60% of the cost.  I’ll throw in the elements that make it pricier and more “up-scale” later. Continue reading →

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Cheap Bastid’s Savory Homemade Salisbury Steak

Posted on 04/30/2012 by Walter Blevins

Remember mystery meat?  Brown, rubbery, almost tasteless gunk sitting on the bottom of the main dish aluminum section of the “Hungryman” Swanson’s TV dinners you buy when you’re starved and want something which at least resembles meat but you don’t want to cook.

Or the stuff that found its way onto your school lunch tray with a heap of bad mashed potatoes on the side glopped with deep brown goo and a side of corn that was boiled to death by the denizens of the lunchroom kitchen?  Both versions of the dish would typically feature bits of “pencil eraser”—cooked canned mushrooms which somehow have become rubbery.

Yep, that’s Salisbury Steak.  It’s a venerable dish which, thanks to the TV dinner industry has been sorely abused.  We’ve all had it.  It fills our belly and satisfies a primal urge for beef but usually in a form that only technically qualifies as a meal.

I’ve eaten it as a “treat”—something to “reward” an evening of independence from kids and the duties of a household.  I’ve eaten it when I didn’t want to cook but wanted something to fill me up—a default pretend feast of gargantuan proportions fresh from the freezer section of the grocery store.

Now, I have come up with a way to make it a “stick to your ribs celebration of flavor and comfort food.”  And it’s good.  Flavorful, savory, aromatic.

Continue reading →

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Leftovers! Turkey a la King

Posted on 04/29/2012 by Walter Blevins

Let’s talk leftovers today.  Cheap Bastid loves leftovers.  Sometimes I’ll cook up a roast just for left-overs and to see how many different meals I can make.  It’s kind of like turning cooking into a contact sport.

For Easter, I came across a killer deal on a turkey breast.  I love doing them on the grill in a disposable roasting pan—it takes less time and gives the same results you get in your oven.  Anyway, we got a fantastic dinner out of it along with some great leftovers for sandwiches and, as always, a whole pile of bits and pieces that get used one way or another.

Remember back in the “olden days”—like the late 1950’s—when your Mom would take the left over turkey and make “Turkey a la King”?  Yeah, my Mom made it.  And I made it 25 years ago when my kids were little too.

Continue reading →

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Cheap Bastid’s Basic Spice Blend

Posted on 04/23/2012 by Walter Blevins

You know, I keep probably 30 or more spices in my kitchen cupboard right next to the stove.  And I use pretty much all of them at least from time to time.  I can whip up a pretty good spice blend just by rummaging around with an idea in mind of how I want a flavor to develop.   Want to know how Cheap Bastid can whip up a pretty good spice blend?  It’s easy.  I’ve whipped up enough bad spice blends to have finally figured out what works and why.  Failure.  Yep, that’s the great educator.

Anyway, the more I’ve cooked the more I’ve come back to absolute basics.  All those TV chefs—whether it’s Tom Colicchio or Robert Irvine or whoever—seem to come back to the same basic, salt and pepper.

A few years back, my daughter gave me a shaker of a spice blend she used and bought from a shop where she lived in Missouri.  It was fantastic.  But it was also a bit expensive.  I loved using it and wanted more but looked at it and what was in it and said to myself:  “Self, you can make this.”  Of course I could and it’s what I call my Basic Blend.  Here’s the real simple, quick, Cheap Bastid recipe: Continue reading →

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Grilled London Broil with Mustard, Ginger & Brown Sugar Marinade

Posted on 04/20/2012 by Walter Blevins
It’s grilling season!  Actually, it’s grilling season here in Southern California pretty much year around.  And, in 30 years of living in the Upper Midwest, there were times even in the middle of winter when I’d stoke up the grill—or try to stoke it up hot enough to cook.

I love grilling, and it’s a “skill” that takes years to acquire and even more to master (and I still haven’t “mastered” it).  Each grill is different and heat up differently, so it’s a matter of trial and error to get good at it.

Here’s one of my favorite all time recipes for a cheap cut of meat which ends up tasting fantastic.  It’s a London Broil marinade that I came across years and years ago in the Bismarck Tribune which means I’ve been doing it since about 1978.  It’s pungent and incredibly flavorful.  I like to keep about a half cup of it aside as a dipping sauce and use the rest as a marinade.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Continue reading →

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