The Foodie Files

Oh my goodness, we have got to talk about the USA women's gymnastic team right now.  Did anyone else tear up when they saw Aly Raisman's expression at the end of her final routine (when she realized she clinched the team gold)?  Cause if you didn't, your heart may be made of stone...it was my favorite Olympic moment thus far.  Speaking of the Olympics, we've been in celebration mode over here since the Opening Ceremony.  While the intensity of our celebration hasn't quite matched last Friday night's (I can't make exclusively American food for 17 days...I'm sorry.  I love this country, but no), it's been loads of fun cheering Team USA on to victory.  Here's a few snapshots from our Opening Ceremony dinner...

...and here's the recipe for the centerpiece of our All-American menu: delicious corn dogs.

Ingredients
3 cups Pancake Mix
1 cups Yellow Corn Meal
2 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
2 cups Water (More If Needed To Thin Batter)
Hot Dogs
Chopsticks
Canola Oil, For Frying

In a large bowl, combine pancake mix and cornmeal.

Add eggs and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick.  Start out by adding 2 cups.

Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready: the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown or burn.  Insert sticks into hot dogs so that they're 2/3 of the way through.  Dip the hot dogs into the batter and allow excess to drip off for a couple of seconds.

Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all).  Flip with tongs to ensure even browning, and remove from oil when the outside is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Simple, delicious, patriotic, county-fair-like...all good things.