Summertime Hot Dogs with Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

I have been wanting to make this barbecue sauce for probably about a month now. I mentioned this before, but it seems like every time I put this on the menu something happens and we haven't been able to make this dinner. Last night, though, we finally did!

I had high hopes for the sauce, especially considering my luck cooking with soda before, and it definitely did not disappoint. I love Dr. Pepper but I’m trying not to drink it very much since I'm pregnant, so this was the perfect way to indulge. The Dr. Pepper adds wonderful sweetness and a perfect molasses undertone to the sauce.

The recipe calls for the sauce to be pureed, but I skipped that step simply because it didn't bother me to have chunks of onion and garlic in my sauce. I topped my hot dogs with chopped pickles as Better Homes and Gardens suggested, and it was definitely delicious. We have a ton of sauce left over, which I can't wait to use to feed my barbecue cravings later in the week. We ate this with sweet corn on the cob (the first of the season), and it was the perfect summer supper.

Summertime Hot Dogs with Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce
source: Better Homes and Gardens

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 12-ounce can Dr Pepper
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
Optional toppers: pickles, sliced jalapeño peppers, chopped onion

1. For sauce, in medium saucepan cook and stir onion and garlic in hot butter over medium heat about 10 minutes until onions are tender. Add all ingredients except hot dogs, buns, and toppers. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Cook, uncovered, until sauce begins to thicken, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool sauce 10 minutes.

2. Puree sauce in pan with immersion blender, or transfer to a blender jar, cover, and blend until smooth. (I skipped this step.)

3. Meanwhile, on grill cook hot dogs on rack directly over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through. Serve hot dogs on buns with toppers.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini

This dish was featured in an e-mail I got from Kraft Foods ages ago, and when I was trying to come up with a pasta dish for dinner this week (I love pasta -- why do I have such a hard time with this?) I came across the recipe and it just sounded good. And it definitely was good. It couldn't have been easier or quicker to make, which makes it the perfect weeknight dinner. I modified the recipe so we'd have leftovers for lunch for the next couple of days, and my changes are reflected below. Quick, simple and delicious -- I don't think it gets any better than that. Even Joe liked this a lot, and didn't once complain about the lack of meat on his plate. I call that a victory!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini
source: adapted from Kraft Foods

1 19-ounce package frozen cheese tortellini
1 16-ounce bag frozen broccoli florets
2 14.5-ounce cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
8 ounces cubed cream cheese
Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking time.

2. Meanwhile, cook tomatoes in large skillet on medium heat 5 minutes. Add cream cheese; cook 2 to 3 minuntes or until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.

3. Drain pasta mixture. Add to tomato mixture in skillet; mix lightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Key Lime Cheesecake

My husband's drink of choice is rum and Coke with a slice of lime. He really doesn't drink them that often, but last week, he got the urge for one. So, he made a run to the store -- where he saw that key limes were 15 for $1. So he figured, hey, I'll just buy 15 of them. Even though there is no way he could ever drink enough rum and Cokes to use all 15 limes before they went bad.

Long story short, I was left with quite a few limes that were just going to spoil if I didn't use them for something. I thought about making the obvious thing, a key lime pie, but then decided I'd rather try something new. I found this recipe for key lime cheesecake in one my cheesecake cookbooks, so I decided to go for it.

This is a delicious cheesecake. If you're a fan of citrus, I think you'd really love it. It has a sugar cookie crust, a creamy key lime filling, and a tart honey-lime glaze. I have to admit that it's quite tart, so if you're not a huge fan of super-tart things I'd definitely leave the glaze off, or reduce the amount of lime and/or increase the amount of honey in the glaze. Overall, though, this cheesecake was a delicious and refreshing summer dessert, and everyone who tried it absolutely loved it.

(By the way, I still have quite a few limes left to use, so if you have any ideas for ways I can use them up I'd love to hear them!)

Key Lime Cheesecake
source: Cheesecake Extraordinaire, by Mary Crownover

For the sugar cookie crust:

3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Substitution: 8 ounces of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

For the key lime filling:

24 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons sour cream
5 teaspoons flour
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup key lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the honey-lime glaze:

1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
4 teaspoons key lime juice
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel

1. For the crust, in a medium bowl stir together flour and sugar. Add egg, butter or margarine, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined. With generously greased fingers, press the dough evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. For the filling, in a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and flour. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in limeade concentrate, lime juice, and vanilla extract. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.

3. For the glaze, in a small saucepan stir together limeade concentrate, lime juice, cornstarch, honey, and lime peel. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Pour over cheesecake. Chill till serving time. Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

Oven Rings

First of all, I have no idea why the picture is showing up sideways. Sometimes I really hate Blogger. Sorry about that, guys.

Anyway. I've made lots of onion rings in my day, but they've all been of the deep-fried variety. So when I saw an oven-baked version of onion rings in a recent issue of Everyday Food, I was intrigued. Could they possibly be as crispy as their fried counterpart? The answer is a very definitive YES.

These onion rings were delightfully crispy with a perfectly seasoned breading. They came together very simply (and without too much mess, surprisingly). The trick to the crispiness is a hot sheet pan, hot oil (the original recipe calls for olive oil, but I used canola because it has a higher cooking temperature), and…cornflakes. (Psst: They don't even have to be name brand cornflakes. The store brand works just fine.) We had these with our burgers on Friday, and they were the perfect accompaniment. We dipped them in Sweet Baby Ray's horseradish-based signature sauce, which was delicious. Joe liked them so much that he's insisting we have these onion rings every Friday. I'm not sure if we'll have them that often, but this will definitely be my go-to onion ring recipe from now on!

Oven Rings
source: Everyday Food, June 2009

1 1/2 cups corn flakes
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, sliced and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola oil)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse corn flakes and bread crumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet.

3. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Weekly Meal Planning

This week our menu is packed with everything I'm craving. Joe is just along for the ride; he'll eat what I make, and he will like it. I really owe him a week of only food that he wants (which basically means a week of having lasagna every day). Maybe I'll do that in a few weeks, but for now, it's all about fulfilling my voracious cravings. He really is a saint for putting up with me sometimes.

Monday -- Soup or Salad: BBQ-ranch fried chicken salad. I probably won't "officially" post the recipe for this salad, but here's how I make it: I buy a package of fried chicken tenders from the deli counter at the grocery store, then warm them, slice them, and put them on top of a store-bought salad mix that I've jazzed up with grape tomatoes, sliced green onions, and cheddar cheese. Then I douse the whole thing with BBQ-ranch salad dressing. Simple, semi-homemade, and delicious!

Tuesday -- Pasta: Creamy tomato tortellini, garlic bread

Wednesday -- Grilling: Hot dogs with Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce, grilled corn on the cob. It's getting comical how the universe is conspiring against us having this meal. We didn't have it two weeks ago because I was feeling particularly lazy pregnant. We didn't have it last week because I came down with a terrible summer cold (the worst kind, in my opinion) and I didn't feel like cooking. Plus, it stormed all day -- not exactly ideal grilling weather. So we ate leftovers last Wednesday. But I really want to eat this, so we are going to have it this week, I swear!

Thursday -- Quick and Easy: BLTs, hashbrowns

Friday -- Burgers and Fries: Pub patties with horseradish sauce, steak fries

Saturday -- Regional or International: Pierogies with smoked sausage and sauerkraut

Sunday -- Comfort Food: Slow-cooker BBQ beans and sausage. Jessie mentioned this recipe recently, and I can't believe I overlooked it in my latest issue of Food Network Magazine. I know, I know, three barbecue dishes in one week. Start buying stock in Sweet Baby Ray's! The baby is going to come out slathered in barbecue sauce at the rate I'm going.