Anchorage Dogs, Grilled Squash, and Grilled Corn.

Anyone who’s been around Chez Recessionista for any period of time knows that Sunday-night cookouts are a mainstay around here.  Even in the dead of winter or the heat of summer, I can’t resist firing up the grill or the smoker and making a little backyard magic.  But tonight, with the temperatures mellowing out and the humidity absent from the air, there was simply no better place to be than outside on our brick patio, sipping a Port City Brewery specialty beer and smelling the food sizzling over the charcoal.

This week’s shipment from Great Country Farms included squash and corn, both of which were in perfect form for tonight’s dinner!  I sliced two yellow squash (squashes? I never know) into coins and put them atop a sheet of aluminum foil, topping them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil  and adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder before wrapping the foil up into a neat little packet.

Then it was on to the corn: I removed the husks and put each on in its own foil packet, spraying the cobs with cooking spray and rolling them in some Tony Chacherie Cajun seasoning.  (We love our Tony Chacherie around here!)  Both the corn and the squash cooked on the grill for about half an hour.

In the last 15 minutes of cook time, I threw four Tofurky beer brats onto the grill as well and let them cook through thoroughly.  When they were ready, I followed this recipe from Tablespoon for a new sort of hot dog I’d never heard of before: Anchorage dogs!  I grilled two hot dog buns and then opened them up, added some spicy brown mustard and horseradish, placed the brats in the bread, and topped the whole thing with potato salad.  (We skipped the hard-boiled eggs that the recipe calls for; that seemed a bit over-the-top, even for us!)

The verdict?  It was GREAT!  We are now big fans of Anchorage dogs.  The horseradish really set the tone for the brats, and the potato salad sealed the deal.  I loved the juxtaposition of heat and sweet -- we used a spicy horseradish to add a little extra kick -- and, while the dog was decadent, it was pleasingly filling (as opposed to stuffing us to the gills :)).

And of course the corn and the squash – two tried-and-true side dishes in our household – turned out A-OK.  You just can’t beat fresh veggies!

So, in short, another great Sunday-night cookout!  It’s one of my favorite traditions.  (And spoiler alert – the smoker will be making its first appearance of the season in the next couple of weeks!)

Have a great week, y’all!

:)