Hot Diggety Dog!

It's the second word in the old classic advertising campaign for American car maker Chevrolet,

"Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet."

Hot dogs are as American as all of those beloved things, and a summertime staple on everybody's grill. How you like your hot dog can be compared to how you like your coffee, right?  Mustard, onions, ketchup (must be Heinz) and relish are the classics, but there is a new wave of foodies that are challenging and old American classic. 

Celebrity Chef Rachel Ray showed us how to dress up the hot diggedy dog in new and exciting ways on GMA this morning! She prepared 7-Layer Hot Dogs with such ease, and set my stomach churning and yearning for this delightful  take on-what?- designer hot dogs?

Rachel Ray's 7-Layer Hot Dogs

Ingredients

1 cup canned spicy vegetarian refried beans

Half palmful ground cumin

4 Jumbo hot dogs (butterflied open only if crisping on griddle)

(Cooking Spray, if crisping)

4 good quality hot dog buns

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 cup corn chips, such as Fritos, lightly crushed

1 cup crema

Guacamole

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

2 avocados

1 large jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped

Small handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 large or 2 medium cloves garlic, pasted or grated

Pico de Gallo

2 to 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 jalapeno chile, minced

A couple tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 lime, zested and juiced

Salt and pepper

Cooking Directions

For the Guacamole

In a medium bowl, douse the onion with the citrus juices. Salt liberally and let stand 10 minutes. Scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl. Add the jalapeño, cilantro, and garlic and mash with a fork until fairly smooth. Adjust the salt.

For the Pico de Gallo

In a small bowl, add the plum tomatoes, onion, chile,cilantro, lime juice and zest and season with salt andpepper.

For the Hot Dogs

Place a medium pot of water over high heat and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low, add hot dogs and cook until heated through. This will only take a few minutes. If crisping the dogs, place a griddle or skillet over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add the hot dogs cut side down first to the pan and cook until crisp, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn over and crisp the other side for another minute.

To assemble:

Slather some refried beans on the inside of the bun and add a sprinkling of the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. Place a hot dog in the bun and top with some crushed fritos, guacamole, pico de gallo and dot with crema.

Holy guacamole! I know what's for dinner tonight. Rachel the great, also served up several other options for creating a hot dog smorgasbord. Check these out:

Seattle Dog

Spread the hot dog with cream cheese, then top it with grilled onions and sliced jalapenos.

Pastrami Reuben Dog

Wrap the hot dog in pastrami, layer on a slice of Swiss cheese, melt. Top with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing.

In a Pickle Dog

Top the hot dog with pickle relish, cucumber wedges and dill pickle wedges. Sprinkle with celery salt.

Pimento Cheese Dog

Spread the hot dog with store-bought pimento cheese, then sprinkle with crushed buttery crackers, such as Ritz.

It looks and sounds soooo fun! I'm serving 7 layer and Pastrami Ruben Dogs tonite!

I'll let you know how they come out...