by Henry Otley
The history of National Corndog Day dates back eighteen long years to the sleepy college town of Corvallis, Oregon. Young Brady Sahnow and Henry Otley had just spent two solid days watching the NCAA men's basketball tournament in the basement of Brady's house. It was during the middle of the third day that Stan Sahnow (Brady's father) realized that Brady and Henry had been malnourished the last two days - living off of soda pop and potato chips.
Figuring the boys needed some sort of sustenance to keep their attention and focus intact for that days' tournament games, Stan rushed to the kitchen to see what he could make them. He passed by the muffins in the oven and the fruits in the basket. He opened the fridge and saw pastas, vegetables, sandwich fixings, juices, turkey, mashed potatoes, chicken soup, Chinese food, Mexican food, Greek food, even an entire ham, yet he knew that none of these foods would suffice for those two starving young men. In desperation Stan opened the freezer door, and what appeared in front of him as if God Himself had placed it there was one box of 24 corndogs.
Knowing that there was little time before Henry and Brady might do something stupid like stop watching TV and go outside for awhile, Stan quickly prepared the corndogs. As he baked them ever so carefully, the corndogs turned golden brown, and as the corn batter began to crisp up Stan knew those dogs would ensure that Henry and Brady could continue to watch that days' quadruple header from start to finish. Rushing down the stairs with a platter of corndogs in one hand and the ketchup, mustard, napkins, and perhaps some nacho cheese in the other hand, he placed the corndogs in front of the two avid basketball fans.
Henry, knowing exactly what to do with a batch of corndogs, began eating, taking caution to not over dip in any of the condiments. Meanwhile, Brady struggled with the whole idea of a hotdog on a stick wrapped in cornmeal, but with a little tutelage from Henry and some encouragement from his father, Brady too began to stuff his face with those very tasty wieners. Stan was triumphant. Henry and Brady would not leave the warm glow of the TV set the rest of the day. And so it was deemed that the Saturday of the Final 32 of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament from that day forward, be celebrated as National Corndog Day.
Since that day in March of 1992, National Corndog day has been celebrated on a regular basis. To this day Stan Sahnow does not know how that box of corndogs made it to his freezer. He is sure that he never put them there and swears that never had a corndog been in his house until that day. Perhaps something magical and divine placed those corndogs in that freezer, something watching out for Henry and Brady, or maybe it was Brady's step mom. At any rate that first box of corndogs, that immaculate box of corndogs, is still sacred to the many people that have since celebrated National Corndog Day and to the many more that will continue to celebrate it in the future.
Corndog Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups celery, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 1/2 cups green onions, sliced
- 1 1/2 lbs hot dogs
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 17 ounces cornbread-muffin mix
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
- In skillet, saute celery in butter for 5 min.
- Add onions; saute 5 min.
- Place in a large bowl; set aside. Cut hot dogs lengthwise into 1/4s, then cut into 1/3s.
- In the same skillet, saute hot dogs for 5 min. or until lightly browned; add to vegetables. set aside 1 cup.
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, sage and pepper.
- Add the remaining hot dog mixture. Stir in corn bread mixes.
- Add 1 1/2 cup cheese. Spread into a shallow 3 quart baking dish.
- Top with reserved hot dog mixture and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 30 min. or until golden brown.
NOTES : I just use my own corn bread recipe.
Deviled Dogs
- 5 corn dogs
- 10 tater tots
- 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 Tbs Mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Paprika
- Bake the corndogs amd tater tots according to package directions.
- When corndogs are cool enough to handle, remove the sticks, and split in half lengthwise.
- Remove the hot dog part, leaving the cornbread shell intact.
- Put the dogs, tots, cheese, mayo, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until smooth.
- Fill each corn shell with an equal amount of the potato mixture. If you have a pastry bag, use it!
- Sprinkle paprika over the top.
- Return to the oven, and bake until top is browned, about 5 minutes.
