PORTLAND, Maine — Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
2 hot dogs (I use Pearl brand)
2 leaves romaine lettuce
½ tomato, sliced 1⁄8"/3 mm thick
1 tbsp/15 ml Patio Mustard (page 223) or regular hot-dog mustard
2 pickle slices, 1⁄8"/3 mm thick, cut the long way
¼ cup/60 ml Miranda's “Ranch” Dressing (page 61)
2 tbsp/15 g red onion, sliced thinly
Heat a heavy 6-inch/15 cm skillet over medium heat. Pour in enough vegetable oil to coat the pan with 1⁄8 inch/3 mm. You are going to pan fry the dogs, low and slow. Fry them 5 minutes, until heated through. You do not want them to brown too much—they should be just a shade darker than raw.
Slice off 2 hot dog–size edge or corner pieces of focaccia, about 6 inches/15 cm by 3 inches/8 cm. Split them open to make buns. Leave the edge crust intact.
Lay a romaine leaf in the bottom of each bun. Chef’s tipksi: This will help keep your bun intact so it does not disintegrate before you are done eating. Place the slices of tomato along one side of the bun, inside the lettuce leaf. Doggies next. Stripe the mustard along one side. Put in the pickle slice so it’s next to the dog. Top it all with the dressing, then the onion.