from C.D. Hersh
They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
At age 18, I (Catherine, the C of C.D. Hersh) decided to cook a dinner for my then boyfriend to show off my homemaking abilities. It was something you did way back then. I planned a four-course dinner to cover all the basics of a meal. I served him two sets of appetizers: shrimp cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce and bacon wrapped hot dogs. A big salad, an entrée and two vegetables, and poached pears drizzled with chocolate sauce for dessert rounded out the meal.
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| Image by Michael Sylvester from Pixabay |
The next appetizer up was the bacon-wrapped hot dogs, (recipe below). You could use little smokies or sausages, but hot dogs were the choice that day. I carefully wrapped each hot dog in a strip of bacon, cut them into bite-sized pieces (because a savvy hostess would never serve an entire hot dog as an appetizer), and laid them on a baking rack. The bacon kept falling off. So I hunted for something to skewer the strips of meat to the hotdogs. I finally found a box of toothpicks, or rather a few toothpicks, in the pantry. I counted the number of hot dog pieces I had and then how many toothpicks I had. I was woefully short on toothpicks. So, like any frugal cook, I broke the toothpicks into the number of pieces I needed and carefully stuck them into the hotdogs, making a mental note to remove the skewers before serving. I popped the hors d’oeuvres in the oven and went back to work preparing the rest of the meal.
When the oven timer rang, I removed the appetizer from the oven, put the next course in to finish cooking, checked that none of the pots were boiling over, plated the hot dogs and proudly presented them to my boyfriend who was in the living room watching television.
“Yumm,” he said. “This looks good.”
Pleased that I hadn’t burned them and that they looked appetizing, I picked up the empty shrimp cocktail dish—which look like it had been licked clean—smiled, and returned to the kitchen. A bit later I returned to the living room to retrieve the hot dog platter. My boyfriend had eaten every single hors d’oeuvre.
“Yes, to hold on the bacon.” By now my heart was racing. “Did you throw them into an ashtray or the waste basket?” I glanced at the ever-present ashtray sitting beside the sofa. It was empty. So was the wastebasket.
He put his hand to his throat and massaged it. “I thought they were a bit crunchy.”
“You ate them?” I asked in terror.
He took my accidental murder attempt with great aplomb. “Don’t worry,” he assured me. “I chewed them up real good.”
His assurance didn’t make me feel much better. “Do you want the rest of the meal, or should we go to the emergency room?”
“What are you serving me?”
I told him the menu, and then added, “With no toothpicks in sight. I’ve used them all up on the appetizer.”
“I’ll eat,” he replied. Then we both broke out in gales of laughter. But I kept a real close eye on him for a few days just to be sure.
That boyfriend was Donald (the D of C.D. Hersh), the same man I married a few years later. He didn’t die. I wasn’t indicted for murder, and we’ve lived happily-ever-after for half a century. Occasionally, I serve him a burnt offering, which we laugh about, but I never, never, never break a toothpick for use in meal prep. I can’t even pick one up without remembering that first meal I cooked for him.
Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay a cookie rack over it.
Wrap one slice of bacon around each hotdog. Secure with WHOLE toothpicks at ends and middle. Place hot dogs on cookie rack.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, turn hot dogs. Bake another 10-15 minutes or until bacon has cooked and crisped.
If using cheese, cut each slice in half and lay a half slice over hot dog and leave in oven until cheese begins to melt.
Remove from oven and cut hotdogs into bite-sized pieces.
Remove toothpicks.
Tip: Cooking the hot dog whole means you won’t need as many toothpicks and will help ensure you don’t puncture your beloved’s intestines when he accidently eats them because you forgot to remove the tiny wooden skewers. ☺
The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1)
Blood Brothers (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2)Son of the Moonless Night (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 3)
The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 4)
Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after.
They have a short Christmas story, Kissing Santa, in a Christmas anthology titled Sizzle in the Snow: Soul Mate Christmas Collection, with seven other authors.
They are looking forward to many years of co-authoring and book sales, and a lifetime of happily-ever-after endings on the page and in real life.
As you can see from the picture she’s still serine hotdogs with tooth picks and I’m still alive. I do however pull the tooth picks out. Lucky once and really lucky in love. 51 years married and no hospital trips due to meals. Lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing our story Sloane.
“D” of CDH
Catherine, remind Donald: Happy wife, happy life. LOL! Fun post and thanks so much for the recipe. In hindsight, you two are still writing beautiful books together! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteAww. He knows.
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