Corn Dogs and Frog Eye Salad

I love corn dogs and I love this tiny pasta salad. So I decided to make them for my birthday dinner. They turned out really well, as I had hoped. Home-made corn dogs are delicious. I was so busy cooking and eating that I forgot to take pictures of my corn dogs so I'll update once I've taken a picture of my remaining one.

The corn dog recipe is from Alton Brown.


Corn Dogs

• 16 turkey dogs
• 16 wooden chopsticks (or anything to skewer the dogs on)
• corn oil (enough to fill a pan 1-2 inches deep)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried, minced jalapeno pepper
• 1 (8.5-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1/3 cup finely grated onion
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• cornstarch, for dredging

Pour oil into a deep fryer or large heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the jalapeno, corn, onion, and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, and stir only enough times to bring the batter together; there should be lumps. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes.


Place your hot dogs on chopsticks. Scatter the cornstarch onto a plate. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and tap well to remove any excess.


Transfer enough batter to almost fill a large drinking glass (refill the glass as needed) and quickly dip in and out of the batter. (I did need to do a little spooning the batter on as it didn't stick quite like I'd wanted it to.) Immediately and carefully place each hot dog into the oil, and cook until coating is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes, turning once. With tongs, remove to cooling rack, and allow to drain for 3 to 5 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com.


Frog Eye Salad

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice (you will have more than you need when your pineapple is drained)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 quarts water (to cook the pasta)
• 1 (16 ounce) package acini di pepe pasta
• 3 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 (20 ounce) cans pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1-2 cups miniature marshmallows

In a sauce pan, combine sugar, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pineapple juice and eggs. Stir and cook over medium heat until thickened (it is like a thick syrup). Remove from heat; add lemon juice and cool to room temperature.


Bring water and remaining salt to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain.


In a large bowl, combine the pasta, egg mixture, mandarin oranges, pineapple, whipped topping, and marshmallows. Mix well and refrigerate overnight or until chilled.