Hot dogs and gelatin aren’t the most photogenic ingredients out there. So I asked for a bit of kid-created art to help illustrate this week’s recipe.

Let’s try a few Masked Hot Dogs!

AuthorRetroRuth

From Hot Dogs, 1955

[cooked-sharing]

The recipe comes from the (aptly titled) booklet Hot Dogs, from 1955. And if you’re looking for a good Halloween recipe, why not put a mask on your food?

This gelatin softening scene was sponsored by the Frankfurter Legendary League.

I don’t know why the Masked Hot Dog Thief is stealing spatulas.

And I’m not sure whether the Hot Dog Minions are supposed to be good (aligned with the Legendary League) or bad.

I do know that it’s way too easy to misspell “frankfurter” in a hilariously inappropriate way.

We looked and looked for a mask for the tasting picture, but apparently we just don’t attend enough masquerades — not a one in the whole house. So Buzz went with a masked cowboy sort of thing.

And then he got his first close look at what he was going to be eating. (And stared at it for a minute or two.)

Oh look, the Frankfurter Legendary League is fighting… um… some less-legendary bad-guy Frankfurters! (Zap zap!)

Meanwhile, Buzz was not enjoying his gelatin-coated hot dogs. (It was difficult to hear coherent comments at first, although “urk” and “argh” were prominently featured.)

“What’s IN this?”

“French dressing.”

“Why does it taste like vinegar?”

“I guess French dressing is made with vinegar.”

Verdict: Fine… sometimes.

Buzz’s tasting notes:

The coating was uneven, so on bites with too much gelatin-dressing it was overpoweringly vinegary. A lighter coat was a nice level of flavor, though. Would have tasted better if the hot dogs could have been warm, but that wouldn’t let the coating solidify — try just dipping them in the dressing and skip the gelatin.

To everybody’s surprise… the kids loved these.