If you live in Chicago and you haven’t been to Superdawg I don’t think we can be friends. And if you live in Chicago and try to tell me how to eat my hot dog, I know we can’t be friends. If I want ketchup I’ll damn well have ketchup. And I’ll throw down with anyone who tries to stop me, capisce? All right. Now let’s talk.
My parents have been going to Superdawg since they were dating. They used to take my siblings and I there when we were kids. It’s a classic drive in. You order from the intercom next to your car and they bring out your tray and hang it on your window (or hand it all to you inside your car if it’s snowing, which it was the other day). It’s a car feast. Where you realize just how useful your dashboard is.
I always get a Superdawg with everything -except hot peppers- and I eat it pickle, fries, dog. That’s how mom does it and that’s how I do it. Except I add onion petals to my order. Because they’re just so damn good. Also highly recommended: the chocolate malt. One of the best. Superdawg gets my vote for best Chicago hot dog. And I’ve had a lot.
So what do you do on your days off? I’ve started a new weekend tradition for myself- bread baking. I’m on a mission to find the best bread recipes. It’s fun. Sometimes messy. Always yeasty. Yeeeastyyyyy.
Today we (the royal “We,” duh) made Honey Oat Pain de Mie. I will admit I don’t own a Pullman pan, so my bread is all baked in this centuries old 9″ x 5″ loaf pan I found in my mom’s cabinet years ago. I should probably upgrade but I’m just so lazy.
The nice thing about this loaf is that it’s really pretty quick as far as bread making goes. It’s made using instant yeast which doesn’t have to be proofed first- you just mix it in with the rest of your ingredients.
Yum. “I’m going to grow up to be bread someday!”
It proofs once in a bowl, you shape it and then proof it again in the pan. Total proofing time 2-2.5 hours. Really not bad at all. You can do your laundry while you’re waiting. That’s what I do anyway.
Bake for 40 min and Voila!
It’s bread!
I like it like this.
Butter and honey. My favorite way to eat bread. Makes me feel like a pioneer.
This is a nice soft sandwich loaf- not crusty on the outside and not very complex in flavor. I think next I’m going to try some grainy shit. I really like bread that looks like it’s covered in birdseed.
Next time I’m going to have a special treat for you. On Sunday Eric is taking me to an amazing candy wonderland where I’ve been begging to go for years. Literally, years.
It’s going to be glorious. Glorious I say! You won’t want to miss this one.
I’m so exciteeeed!
