Vintage Kitchen: Frankfurter Pilaf

Today would have been my grandma's birthday. When I sat down to start working on the Vintage Kitchen series the pop-up alert from my gmail account both startled me with its timing and gave me a happy reminder. My grandma spent a lot of time in the kitchen. She had a recipe box of trusted favorites, but she also had scraps all over the house of something she saw that morning on television and a bookshelf full of her QVC favorites. She didn't welcome very much hands-on help, but many of my favorite childhood memories revolved around sitting at the kitchen table while she tinkered at the counter. Her heart was in the food she prepared for us.

When I rediscovered her recipe box nestled away in my cabinet I knew I needed to do something with it. I needed to find a way to reconnect with those memories. And thus, Vintage Kitchen was born. In this series I will be cooking my way through her recipes, updating them to suit my tastes (I'm not so fond of oleo…) and sharing them here with you. At the end I'm going to take my favorites and self publish a mini-cookbook in celebration of her memory.

Today's recipe? One of my favorite comfort foods, Frankfurter Pilaf. There is very little in this recipe that is particularly healthy, but then again what comfort food is? This rich, buttery dish is reminiscent of fall nights. The weather getting just crisp enough to turn on the fireplace in the family room. It also makes the best leftovers.

2 1/4 cups uncooked rice
1 TBS chicken bouillon concentrate
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup butter
2 TBS olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 hotdogs (1/2 lb) sliced

Cook rice combining the bouillon concentrate with the water used to simmer said rice. I did this in my trusty rice cooker. While that's simmering, melt the butter and olive oil together in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, stirring occasionally. When the onion has just started to caramelize, about 10-15 minutes, add the garlic. Lower the heat and stir occasionally for another 3-5 minutes. Add the hotdog slices to the pan and cook until heated through. Fold in the cooked rice and remove from the heat.

For a more complete meal, balance the richness with some roasted or steamed broccoli.