Italian Dog Recipes

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat enough oil to cover the potatoes to frying temperature (325 to 350 degrees F), and add the potato rounds. Turn them over when they begin to stick to the pan, and fry until the potatoes are browned and crispy on the outside. (The potatoes can also be cooked in a deep fryer for 3 to 5 minutes.) Set the potatoes aside, and turn the heat down to medium.
• Add the hot dogs, onions and peppers to the remaining oil in the saucepan. Let them cook together and exchange flavors until the hot dogs are done and the onions and peppers are beginning to brown.
• To build The Single: Cut the bread into quarters. Starting at the point of one wedge, slice open through the soft middle of the bread, not across the crust and not completely in half. You should be able to peel open the bread just enough to make a pocket for the dog. Mustard can be added to the inside of the bun. Place one dog on the bottom, then pile with the onions, peppers and about half a potato worth of rounds. If the toppings are overflowing the bun, you're doing it just right. Ketchup and sprinkled red pepper flakes can be added on top. Have a fork handy!
• To build The Double: Cut the bread in half. Slice open a pocket in the middle of the half-moon. Put 2 hot dogs on the bottom and double everything, especially the potato rounds - about 1 potato's worth can fit on top!
• This recipe was provided by a professional chef or restaurant and may have been scaled down from a bulk recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Steps:

• Preheat the grill.
• Blanch the sausages in simmering water until just firm to the touch; drain well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil from the capsicums in a large pan and gently sauté the garlic and onion until they have softened but not browned.
• Add the olives, the capsicums, the tomato cooking sauce and the seasonings. Mix well and cook until thickish. Then stir in 8 torn basil leaves.
• While the sauce is cooking, pan fry the sausages in a thin layer of oil in another pan until they are golden brown.
• Then cut the two baguettes into three pieces about the length of the sausages; make cuts in the centre (but NOT right through) and insert a sausage topped with the sauce inside each piece of the baguette.
• Place on the sausage-filled baguettes on a baking tray, top with cheeses and grill until golden and bubbling.
• Serve with a garnish of basil.