Tonight was supposed to be one of The Kid’s and my fave meals.
We were going to The Dog House, which is, shockingly, a hot dog stand that is in various locations around Durham.
There are two different ways to cook hot dogs: wet and dry. Wet is cooking the franks with some type of liquid, steaming or boiling in water or beer. Dry is cooking in a manner that makes the skin crispy.
When hot dog skin is cooked dry, the fat in it changes. Some folks can’t get enough of the combo of crispy skin bathed in the fat.
Some folks — not me.
I am a wet dog girl.
And The Dog House steams its frankfurters.
They also have sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard, not always easy to find in the south (I get my hankering for these Yankee condiments from my Jersey girl mother).
But, almost as good as the doggies are what comes alongside.
Crinkle fries, y’all! And pink lemonade, and these delicious fried apple pies that they glaze while they’re still hot.
Doghouse day is right up there with Taco Tuesday.
But something came up and we had to postpone Dog House day.
(And I bet you thought this was going to be a hot dog column, didn’t you?)
So, I had to pivot.
I would be dining alone, and I didn’t want to get takeout. I also wanted to cook from my kitchen and not have to buy supplies.
My dinner would be a twist on something I loved, and since The Kid had to bow out, it could be something my child loathes.
It would be coconut rice with field peas with snaps.
The Kid hates coconut in every form; hates it so much that my child claims to be allergic. Because everybody’s had that, “I know you don’t like X, but you’ve never had my X!”
Field peas are fine with The Kid, it’s the snaps that are the killer.
Then I added a couple of things.
At Chipotle, I get the burrito bowl and always ask for it to be topped with a double helping of romaine lettuce. So, I decided to plate my rice mixture on a big bed of romaine. Then, I glanced in the pantry and spied my ginormous bag of the onion ring things that go in a green bean casserole .
I loved it, there was a ton of texture; creamy, crispy, crunchy and the bitter romaine played well with the rich coconut rice.
The Kid would have hated it.
You might say my dinner was my child’s… kryptonight.
Thanks for your time.
Contact me at dm@bullcity.mom.
Kryptonight
1 ½ cups white rice
1 13.5-ounce can of coconut milk + water to fill the can
2 teaspoons salt
Big pinch of pepper
1 15-ounce can of Bushes field peas with snaps
Romaine lettuce
Crispy fried onions
Place rice in heavy lidded saucepan along with coconut milk, water, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15-18 minutes or until liquid has cooked in. Turn off heat. Drain field peas and then pour over rice — do not stir.
Recover and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then gently stir peas into the cooked rice.
To plate: slice romaine and place on the bottom of a shallow bowl. Top with rice and peas, then place a handful of fried onions on top.
Serves 4-6 as a main.