For the previous 30 years, my dad has had a beloved lunch ritual: a Costco scorching canine. What began as an inexpensive and filling meal throughout lengthy days at work grew to become a weekly custom—one which caught, even after retirement. Dad nonetheless eats a scorching canine as soon as every week. And when he can’t get to Costco, he recreates it at dwelling with two substances he and my mother at all times preserve readily available.
Costco first opened its Denver warehouse within the early Nineties, introducing Coloradans to the world of bulk items and budget-friendly staples. My mother and father had been early adopters. They used to choose up flatbeds of cigarettes, sweet bars, and soda to inventory their fuel station and comfort retailer. But even after they retired, their weekly Costco runs continued. Whether they’re looking for bathroom paper, slabs of pork stomach, or a flat-screen TV, no journey is full with no cease on the meals court docket—and for Dad, that at all times means a scorching canine and a Diet Pepsi.
The $1.50 scorching dog-and-soda combo has been a Costco meals court docket legend because the mid-Eighties, and regardless of inflation, the value hasn’t modified in a long time. Over the years, although, my mother and father came upon that they may make the cult-favorite specialty at dwelling with Kirkland Signature Beef Dinner Franks and a pack of sesame seed buns. But Dad’s model forgoes typical buns for his favourite product from Costco bakery—butter croissants.
Amelia Manley/Dotdash Meredith
How to Make My Dad’s Favorite 2-Ingredient Lunch
Dad’s rendition of the Costco scorching canine is as no-frills because it will get, nevertheless it hits all the precise notes. He heats up a jumbo beef scorching canine within the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, then slides it right into a break up Kirkland butter croissant. And whereas he’s not choosy in regards to the scorching canine model so long as it’s 100% beef, the croissant must be from Costco. Why? “Because Costco croissants are the best,” Dad says. Simple sufficient.
He tops it off with a parade of condiments—ketchup, mustard, relish, and plenty of chopped uncooked onions—then eats it with a knife and fork, ideally whereas watching soccer or the information. The croissant provides a buttery, flaky richness that someway works completely with the saltiness of a scorching canine. It’s a little candy, slightly savory, and much more satisfying than it has any proper to be.
What I really like most about this quirky lunch is that it says the whole lot about my dad: resourceful, constant, and slightly bit additional. It’s consolation meals constructed on a long time of behavior and love for a spot that grew to become a second dwelling to my mother and father in some ways. It additionally jogs my memory that a number of the greatest meals are the simplest.
