Chicago Style

by Mara @ What's For Dinner? on March 7, 2010

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What a random food day I had today… I mean, I ate weird stuff at weird times and then topped it off with a somewhat weird dinner. Breakfast was leftover roast chicken, then a couple hours later a lovely green monster with spinach, milk, nut butter, flax, mango, blueberries, and chia seeds. I went and spent my Valentine’s Day gift certificate from Adam today on a glorious manicure and pedicure…the toes are red and the fingers are purple!

Lunch was late (like 3 p.m.) when Adam and I decided to go to a local hot dog stand for some Chicago-style dogs. We had hot dogs from this place as a “midnight snack” at our wedding, and haven’t had them since, so we thought “what the heck” and went for it.

Now, do any of you know what goes on a standard Chicago hot dog? And, more importantly, what doesn’t?

These ingredients are what are traditionally included on a Chicago dog, and can be added or eliminated to the diner’s taste. HOWEVER, there is NEVER ketchup on a Chicago hot dog. Ever. Why are Chicago hot dogs so “doctored up”? Well, back in the depression era, hot dogs were a convenient and inexpensive way for people to have a complete meal in a time where fresh produce was limited. Because of the variety of vegetables on the dog, it’s said to be “dragged through the garden.” There, your Chicago history lesson for the day.

My hot dog this afternoon had onions, relish, mustard, and sport peppers on it, and it was FAN FREAKING TASTIC. I could’ve eaten a few more, but limited myself to one. What it did do though, was leave me wanting more vegetables. We hit up the produce market and stocked up, and a few hours later, I was chopping and roasting and spiralizing! I won a spiralizer from Sophia’s giveaway, and let’s just say, I’m quite obsessed. I forgot to take a picture of my spiralized zucchini, but I got a picture of the carrot I shredded the other day

Tonight, I sauteed together some mushrooms, an orange bell pepper, some garlic, and spinach, roasted a spaghetti squash, spiralized some zucchini and started assembling. I wanted to use some of this sauce from Bertolli and FoodBuzz‘s Tastemaker Program

The bottom of my large bowl was filled with spiralized zucchini and spaghetti squash, then topped with my mushroom/pepper/spinach mixture, then the whole thing was topped with some of this creamy sauce. While it wasn’t something I’d normally buy, the flavor was very nostalgically tomato. Adam likened it to a gourmet and creamy version of the sauce on Spaghetti-Os. My bowl, while not pretty, was delicious. Thanks Bertolli and FoodBuzz!

Tonight, Adam and I are two of probably 10 people not watching the Oscars, so we’re enjoying cartoon reruns and dark chocolate. Tomorrow’s a busy day, as its the beginning of a new term, so I get to meet 120 new kids tomorrow throughout the day.

Have a great Monday!