Hello, Dubbers! This week, we have the Fighting Ferentz’s on tap. They will bring an old-school, smash-mouth brand of football to the Horseshoe, and I am here for it. It should be a great test for the boys in the trenches and for the linebackers, who can hopefully take another step forward this week. 

Last summer, I visited my aunt and uncle in Des Moines, and I was reminded of the beauty of farmland. Having lived in North Carolina for 15 years, it was a completely different beauty than our mountains and beaches, but it was beautiful nonetheless. But I was also reminded that there is a lot of corn out there. Like, A LOT! And to celebrate the children of the corn coming to old Columbus town, we have a pretty simple but tasty corn recipe for you:

Homemade Corndogs

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups cornmeal
• ½ cup corn flour
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 8 hotdogs
• Canola oil for frying
• Wooden popsicle sticks (I found them in the arts and crafts section)

Directions

1. Grill the hotdogs. Push the wooden popsicle stick slightly over halfway into each hotdog lengthwise.
2. Heat deep fryer or stovetop oil to 350 degrees (use a candy thermometer to help regulate the temperature if necessary)
3. In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, corn flour, flour, and baking powder. Add in the eggs, honey, and buttermilk to the mixture, continuing to whisk to combine evenly.
4. Once the oil is up to temperature, dip the skewered hot dog into the batter, making sure it is completely and evenly coated.
5. Drop it into the oil until golden brown (appx. 5 minutes). Either plan to have a deep container for the oil or a set of tongs to hold the corndog under the oil if your frying pan is on the shallow side.
6. After pulling the corndog out of the oil, place it on a plate with a paper towel to remove excess oil.
7. Serve with your favorite mustard, hot sauce, ranch, or other dipping sauce.

Pro Tips

• Add 2 finely chopped jalapenos to the batter to give your corndog a little spice.
• Use Mike’s Hot Honey instead of normal honey to give your corndog some extra kick as well.
• Substitute hot dogs for your favorite sausage. I like to use a jalapeno cheddar sausage.
• Preparing food for more people? Make some corndog nuggets. Get a pack of little smokies or chop up some hot dogs into quarters, cook them up, and place 2-3 on a wooden skewer width-wise. Dip those in the batter, using a spoon as needed to cover all the hotdogs, and then cook just like the full-sized dogs.
• If you can’t find corn flour (I couldn’t), just substitute it with an extra ½ cup of all-purpose flour.

BONUS RECIPE: Here is a link to one of my favorite TGF recipes ever, hot corn dip. So tasty, so easy to make, and contains my three favorite ingredients, bacon, cheese, and jalapenos.

BONUS RECIPE 2: Here is a link for beer cheese to dip your corndogs in.

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