After-Work Gourmet by Lisa Messinger

As baseball season heads into its final innings and we count down to the playoffs and the World Series, there is lots of rooting going on. Have you cheered for your hot dog lately, though? That official food of baseball is, of course, also one of the all-time favorite home team dishes of many families.

I could have been focused on the New York Mets — the many-decades favorite in my house — when I heard anything about Citi Field, their new much-heralded stadium. However, recently it was a brilliant hot dog philosophy that caught my attention.

Famed New York restaurateur and baseball fan Danny Meyer (owner of Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and other hotspots in the city) opened up Blue Smoke, Shake Shack, El Verano Taqueria and Box Frites at Citi Field, as well as providing the food and beverages at the Delta Sky360 Club, a venue for premium ticket holders. He has revealed, though, that at home his most brilliant play is using his hot dog and bun as a creative catchall for leftovers.

In People magazine's "Under $10" column, he suggests rummaging around in your refrigerator for "that stuff you haven't used in months (like capers and salsa to add a bit of zip). The hot dog is a delicious vehicle for any other flavor."

Meyer — a baseball fan since growing up in St. Louis, who used to divide his childhood franks into eighths to house that many toppings — has been at this play-by-play strategy for decades. Some of his additional favorite leftovers to heap on his dogs: maple syrup or bottled salad dressing, "because you have cold and hot, crunchy and soft, sweet and salt."

The Infield, a popular baseball-themed hot dog stand in Los Angeles, has found some of the same winning solutions. For a mix of contrasting flavors, they slather one of their dogs not only with chili, mustard and onions, but sweet chopped coleslaw as well. Ted Reader, author of the best-selling "King of the Q's Blue Plate BBQ," suggests you can get the same effect by adding fresh pineapple, pineapple jam, raisins and red onion to store-bought coleslaw.

The Infield's Hawaiian dog combines baked beans and pineapple chunks. Their Hummus Lover is topped with hummus, garbanzo beans, pickled beets and pita chips. The Infield's Wedge — which is similar to a Cobb salad leftover-inspired dog recently touted online by Detroit Tigers aficionados — is crowned with romaine lettuce, crumbled blue cheese, freshly chopped tomatoes and real bacon bits.

Like those who have used bits of hot dogs in casseroles for years, Reader reminds us that not only are hot dogs in buns great foundations for leftover toppings, but the meat is also wonderful as a leftover in itself. His grandfather found that out one day when he came up with this memorable salad when experimenting with some leftover grilled franks.

GRANDPA'S LEFTOVER HOT DOG SALAD

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons grain mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup garlic oil

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 ear of corn, sliced into 2-inch rounds

1 red onion, quartered

1 white onion, quartered

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 jumbo hot dogs, grilled

2 bratwurst sausages, grilled

2 chorizo sausages, grilled

2 andouille sausages, grilled

16 mini smoked sausages, grilled

1 cup cubed cheddar cheese

Yields 8 servings.

Preheat grill to medium (about 350 F.)

In a medium bowl, combine first 5 ingredients to make a dressing.

Mix well; set aside.

Place corn, onions, peppers and garlic in grill basket. Grill vegetables for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender, carefully turning twice. Remove form grill, carefully remove corn from husks and transfer all warm vegetables to a large bowl.

Cut each hot dog and the larger sausages into bite-sized pieces. (If these are leftovers, warm them in the grill basket; if they are freshly grilled, while still warm, add all meat to vegetables in bowl.) Toss with dressing and top with cubed cheddar cheese; toss again, allowing cheese to melt slightly before serving. Good served as a salad or served in a wrap, pita or hot dog bun.

CHEESY STUFFED BURGER DOGS

1 pound regular ground beef

1/2 pound lean ground pork

1/4 cup Vidalia onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons seasoning mix (see Note)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

6 hot dogs

3 mozzarella cheese strings (about 21 grams each), halved lengthwise

Store-bought barbecue sauce, to taste

6 hot dog buns

Yields 6 servings.

In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, onion, seasoning mix, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Using your clean hands, mix well to incorporate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

When chilled, cover a flat surface with 6 (10-by-6-inch) sheets of plastic wrap. Remove meat from refrigerator and evenly spread a 6-by-4-inch rectangle, with a thickness of about 1/2 inch, on each plastic sheet.

Place a hot dog and half of a cheese string along length of one side of meat rectangle and, using the plastic wrap as a guide, lift up and tightly roll, molding the meat around the hot dog and cheese. The roll should be about 2 inches in diameter. Twist plastic wrap to tighten and seal the ends of the meat roll. Repeat with remaining meat mixture and cheese strings to form 6 burger dogs. Refrigerate burger dogs, still in plastic wrap, for 30 minutes, to allow rolls to set.

Preheat grill to medium (about 350 F). Remove burger dogs from refrigerator, unwrap and discard plastic wrap. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, or until fully cooked, turning occasionally and basting with barbecue sauce during the last 2 to 3 minutes of grilling time. Place hot dog buns, cut side down, on grill and toast for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove grilled burger dogs from grill and place 1 in each toasted hot dog bun.

Serve immediately with extra barbecue sauce and garnish with your favorite condiments. Especially good with mustard, relish, ketchup, sauerkraut, sliced onions, sliced pickles and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Note: To taste, make a seasoning mix with any combination of paprika, chili powder, salt, coriander, garlic powder, curry powder, hot mustard powder, sugar, ground black pepper, dried basil, dried thyme, ground cumin and cayenne pepper.

— Both recipes from "King of the Q's Blue Plate BBQ" by Ted Reader (Home/Penguin, $21.95).

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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