buttercups,
Meanwhile 15 minutes away… at another dinner for another good friend a couple of weeks ago, we began talking about HOT DOGS! What a conversation, let me just tell you! Amongst the 10 of us, we all had differing opinions on hot dogs. All beef…no all chicken….pork is fine…. $0.99 hot dogs are best….I survived on hot dogs and ramen in college…Bright leaf….NO JESSE JONES SON HANDS DOWN (yeah that last comment was just me, but I’m emotionally invested in Jesse Jones)! Jesse Jones is the best, we grew up on Jesse Jones…sure it was never big enough for the bun, but we had those other things to fill the bun out! Personally, I pinch the beginning bread off and always have bread at the end of my hot dogs, I KNOW I’m not alone! Nevertheless, it was a long but funny conversation that began, quickly ended, and then began AGAIN! We noticed that people up north preferred a certain one to us southerners. Needless to say we were all curious as we listened and chimed in when appropriate to convince people our hot dog was the “bestest”. Very few people were familiar with every single hot dog discussed; there are so many different types of hot dogs! The way everyone made these Bright leaf hot dogs sound, I thought I had missed out on something GREAT. Umm I was wrong….as it seems someone has SAVED ME and I CAN live without a BRIGHT LEAF! OMG, how anyone enjoys a Bright Leaf is BEYOND me! No offense if that’s your dog lol
So LISTEN (well read) how I fell in head first…I said, “I’m not a huge hot dog person” (probably because I know what hot dogs exactly are lol), “but I’m all about the condiments and toppings!!!” I then went into detail about MY homemade chili…knowing full well it’s my moma’s homemade chili but we share recipes…mainly because I only know her recipes and they are WONDERFUL! Lol! I made sure all the guests understood that I don’t believe in beans in my chili....my family doesn’t believe in can or bought chili (we’re spoiled lol)….we believe in browning that good hamburger (GRADE A+)…draining, seasoning, adding our secret weapon….and then throwing it back in the pan to simmer…just letting that sauce thicken hunnie! Yes GAWD that’s some good chili. Mom eats it over chips…I just eat it plain lol….when my cousin makes her chili she does it a bit different but it’s still the MOST meatiest thing you’ve ever tasted. When I see her coming in with that heavenly chili, I just sneak a bowl as a snack until the other meat is finished cooking on the grill.
Umm! That chili!
Well after I had everyone at the table just slobbering at the mouth…they were like well you’ve got to make this special homemade::out of this world-chili soon. I felt the first shoe (figuratively) hit me upside the head when I realized, man I just talked this chili up SOOOO super much! Well the next week, I got THAT text message and immediately the 2nd shoe hit me….it was now set in stone, and I had that little butterfly in my tummy that refused to stop fluttering. “Hot dog cookoff” featuring Jay’s famous Chili. You knooooow when you talk something up, you get nervous when you have to follow through!!!! Chile I just laughed while thinking I wonder if mom has some hamburger in the deep freezer I can borrow! J I laugh at myself soo often.
This is becoming longer than I’d hoped…I just want to tell the story in detail…okay short version from now on. Wednesday I began thinking how much hamburger I would need and where I could get the best grade meat from….lol. Thursday I didn’t go to the meat house as expected…I found a $2 off $10 coupon and went on to Food Lion lol. Friday, I came home from the movies (Do not go see Magic Mike unless you’re prepared for nudity that seems out of place and doesn’t help the storyline) and went straight to the kitchen to start making my chili…mom said to call her but I had it in the bag now…it was do or die! I drained…I seasoned…I overly seasoned. I realized my chili powder was hot Mexican chili powder but I said it’ll be okay because I wasn’t buying anymore. I mixed it…secret ingredients and all…and then let it rest! I refrigerated it…hopefully sealing in the seasonings! Saturday afternoon I put it in my 2qt crock pot and let it SIMMER for like 4 hours. I got a small bowl and tasted my own chili goodness and I was like ummm this IS good….I shall be proud *chest all the way out*. Yeah made a quick turn and it was on the FLOOR! Lol! Only 1/3 of it…front seat passenger side…luckily I still had 2/3 for the guests. I got rave reviews….but as my mom points out, “if they were use to eating bought chili or chili from the can…your chili was BANGING you can’t go wrong baby girl” I guess, thanks mom?
Anywho, all the guys surrounded the grill to do their thang….all the girls were inside chilling out having cocktails…some were in the kitchen organizing. Everyone had to bring their favorite pack of hot dogs…the guys cooked packs of hot dogs one at a time….we had 56 hot dogs in all. We had a sticky note system on the stove so we could keep them warm while keeping them organized. We passed out paper and plates…and cut around 3-4 hot dogs per brand in sample size to serve. When I went around I would say number 1 to every PERSON lol…and then number 2 and so on! After all 7 had been served, we took a vote and had lil discussions (too salty, nasty). It was super fun. I think Carolina Pride won (ewwe) but I found out I like Ballpark Angus from the cook-off. My Jesse Jones only got one other vote! BUT I must say I really know my hot dog because I picked it out of 6 others. Bright leaf tasted like fish…yes the hot dog tasted like fish. OMG…lol! Cole slaw, chopped onions, sauerkraut and a host of other toppings…the regulars::ketchup, mustard, relish were all in abundance. My CHILI was good and meaty….chips, drinks-regular and alcoholic….and creme cheese filed strawberries for dessert. We played catch phrase (a true hoot) and name that tune::battle of the sexes. NOW That got serious way too fast. WE had a WONDERFUL time; I love chilled events with my friends!!!! Especially when they've done all the leg work...text messaging....making sure the date works, an evite...the great venue, welcoming space and all that in between guests don't think about because they are mostly concerned with just showing up! LOL She said next time at my house.....LOL I didn't respond!
Meanwhile 15 minutes away… at another dinner for another good friend a couple of weeks ago, we began talking about HOT DOGS! What a conversation, let me just tell you! Amongst the 10 of us, we all had differing opinions on hot dogs. All beef…no all chicken….pork is fine…. $0.99 hot dogs are best….I survived on hot dogs and ramen in college…Bright leaf….NO JESSE JONES SON HANDS DOWN (yeah that last comment was just me, but I’m emotionally invested in Jesse Jones)! Jesse Jones is the best, we grew up on Jesse Jones…sure it was never big enough for the bun, but we had those other things to fill the bun out! Personally, I pinch the beginning bread off and always have bread at the end of my hot dogs, I KNOW I’m not alone! Nevertheless, it was a long but funny conversation that began, quickly ended, and then began AGAIN! We noticed that people up north preferred a certain one to us southerners. Needless to say we were all curious as we listened and chimed in when appropriate to convince people our hot dog was the “bestest”. Very few people were familiar with every single hot dog discussed; there are so many different types of hot dogs! The way everyone made these Bright leaf hot dogs sound, I thought I had missed out on something GREAT. Umm I was wrong….as it seems someone has SAVED ME and I CAN live without a BRIGHT LEAF! OMG, how anyone enjoys a Bright Leaf is BEYOND me! No offense if that’s your dog lol
So LISTEN (well read) how I fell in head first…I said, “I’m not a huge hot dog person” (probably because I know what hot dogs exactly are lol), “but I’m all about the condiments and toppings!!!” I then went into detail about MY homemade chili…knowing full well it’s my moma’s homemade chili but we share recipes…mainly because I only know her recipes and they are WONDERFUL! Lol! I made sure all the guests understood that I don’t believe in beans in my chili....my family doesn’t believe in can or bought chili (we’re spoiled lol)….we believe in browning that good hamburger (GRADE A+)…draining, seasoning, adding our secret weapon….and then throwing it back in the pan to simmer…just letting that sauce thicken hunnie! Yes GAWD that’s some good chili. Mom eats it over chips…I just eat it plain lol….when my cousin makes her chili she does it a bit different but it’s still the MOST meatiest thing you’ve ever tasted. When I see her coming in with that heavenly chili, I just sneak a bowl as a snack until the other meat is finished cooking on the grill.
Umm! That chili!
Well after I had everyone at the table just slobbering at the mouth…they were like well you’ve got to make this special homemade::out of this world-chili soon. I felt the first shoe (figuratively) hit me upside the head when I realized, man I just talked this chili up SOOOO super much! Well the next week, I got THAT text message and immediately the 2nd shoe hit me….it was now set in stone, and I had that little butterfly in my tummy that refused to stop fluttering. “Hot dog cookoff” featuring Jay’s famous Chili. You knooooow when you talk something up, you get nervous when you have to follow through!!!! Chile I just laughed while thinking I wonder if mom has some hamburger in the deep freezer I can borrow! J I laugh at myself soo often.
This is becoming longer than I’d hoped…I just want to tell the story in detail…okay short version from now on. Wednesday I began thinking how much hamburger I would need and where I could get the best grade meat from….lol. Thursday I didn’t go to the meat house as expected…I found a $2 off $10 coupon and went on to Food Lion lol. Friday, I came home from the movies (Do not go see Magic Mike unless you’re prepared for nudity that seems out of place and doesn’t help the storyline) and went straight to the kitchen to start making my chili…mom said to call her but I had it in the bag now…it was do or die! I drained…I seasoned…I overly seasoned. I realized my chili powder was hot Mexican chili powder but I said it’ll be okay because I wasn’t buying anymore. I mixed it…secret ingredients and all…and then let it rest! I refrigerated it…hopefully sealing in the seasonings! Saturday afternoon I put it in my 2qt crock pot and let it SIMMER for like 4 hours. I got a small bowl and tasted my own chili goodness and I was like ummm this IS good….I shall be proud *chest all the way out*. Yeah made a quick turn and it was on the FLOOR! Lol! Only 1/3 of it…front seat passenger side…luckily I still had 2/3 for the guests. I got rave reviews….but as my mom points out, “if they were use to eating bought chili or chili from the can…your chili was BANGING you can’t go wrong baby girl” I guess, thanks mom?
Anywho, all the guys surrounded the grill to do their thang….all the girls were inside chilling out having cocktails…some were in the kitchen organizing. Everyone had to bring their favorite pack of hot dogs…the guys cooked packs of hot dogs one at a time….we had 56 hot dogs in all. We had a sticky note system on the stove so we could keep them warm while keeping them organized. We passed out paper and plates…and cut around 3-4 hot dogs per brand in sample size to serve. When I went around I would say number 1 to every PERSON lol…and then number 2 and so on! After all 7 had been served, we took a vote and had lil discussions (too salty, nasty). It was super fun. I think Carolina Pride won (ewwe) but I found out I like Ballpark Angus from the cook-off. My Jesse Jones only got one other vote! BUT I must say I really know my hot dog because I picked it out of 6 others. Bright leaf tasted like fish…yes the hot dog tasted like fish. OMG…lol! Cole slaw, chopped onions, sauerkraut and a host of other toppings…the regulars::ketchup, mustard, relish were all in abundance. My CHILI was good and meaty….chips, drinks-regular and alcoholic….and creme cheese filed strawberries for dessert. We played catch phrase (a true hoot) and name that tune::battle of the sexes. NOW That got serious way too fast. WE had a WONDERFUL time; I love chilled events with my friends!!!! Especially when they've done all the leg work...text messaging....making sure the date works, an evite...the great venue, welcoming space and all that in between guests don't think about because they are mostly concerned with just showing up! LOL She said next time at my house.....LOL I didn't respond!
 |
| You'll always be #1 to me Mr. Jesse Jones, my <3 |
~kisses
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