HOBBY CHEF COOKS SIGNATURE DISH

Hobby chef says: start out with the right ingredients.

My signature dish, a take off on a childhood favorite at birthdays, includes the healthy and the questionable healthy.

The question comes up a few times a year on house birthdays, so the ingredients are not deadly.

Cooking birthday dinner for others in hobby chef style:

The beauty of knowing your way around a kitchen is making improvements on old standards.

One old standard I remember comes from the Depression. At least it seems like it comes from the Great Depression.

Growing up, the birthday dinner was slit hotdogs with a piece of Velveeta in the slit, then smothered in instant mashed potatoes from a box with more Velveeta on top.

It must have been good if I remember?

I’ve never replicated the original, instead using food with a definite shelf life.

Onions, Carrots, and Celery? Oh My

Fresh produce balances the hot dogs, but not just any hotdog.

Organic chicken dog? No. Vegetable based hot dog? Sausage? No.

But I’ve tried them all.

The winner is: Hebrew National, baby.

But let’s not get ahead or ourselves.

Sauté the mirepoix, adding mushrooms halfway through.

At the same time, boil the potatoes you peeled and cut.

Mash the potatoes with chopped bacon, yogurt, and oat milk.

Boil the dogs now.

Isn’t it fun doing everything at the same time so the assembled ingredients come together at the end?

Hobby Chef Uses A Good Wrapper

The cheese is Tillamook sharp cheddar.

You can use your favorite.

I used a prosciutto wrap to avoid bacon, but bacon is a better choice. I decided to lighten up on the dogs.

Using a large flat roasting pan, smear a thin layer of potatoes on the bottom followed by the mirepoix. Spread it out evenly.

Add liquid to the potatoes if they’re too thick to spread over the loose layer of veggies without digging in.

The Final Touch For Hobby Chef

Push the ham-wrapped hotdogs into the top layer of potatoes and cover with parchment, then foil.

Now what?

That kitchen isn’t going to clean itself.

Neither are the floors or the dog. Since you’re on a roll, why not?

With important people coming over, kick out the stops.

I had three Mrs. Gillaspies and three Mr. Gillaspies in the house, along with the newest member of the team for the past two years.

Clean floors to crawl on, a fluffy dog that doesn’t smell like a wet dog, and a Birthday Boy made for a great evening together.

Add a few hard seltzers, a beer, gin and tonic, and get ready to fight to the last dog.

Repeat For Every Birthday Like They Mean Something

Birthdays are important for kids growing up and parents growing older.

They can be a time to reflect on the past year.

With mid-term elections a day away, is it a time to talk voting?

In my house it is. That’s right, we talk it out.

We want women to make their own decisions about their bodies, not some musty old duffer.

We want baby to grow up and look forward to clean air and water and not a planet on fire.

The big topic is being a good partner for our wives and husbands.

I know two young men and two young women who get it, and it brings me the sort of joy I never expected.

They’ve seen me do things with their mom, and without their mom. This day their mom was at a professional convention getting continuing education hours.

I could have tanked it, made an excuse, and ordered out. That happens, but not on a birthday.

When I look forward to the next birthday, and the one after that, my hope is for my young adults to know the difference between making an effort and mailing it in for their kids.

I’ve got a good feeling about them all, along with a freshly mopped floor and a sweet smelling dog.

When you do your best, things work out for everybody.

Think about that when you fill out your ballot voting blue.

Hobby Chef Says Dig In