Christina Flores Gomez-Pina was featured in the Miami Herald for her blog La Cocina de Christina. Inspired by the Julie and Julia book, she decided to use Nitza Villapol’s Cocina Al Minuto as the guide for her blog.
There are over 600 recipes that she plans to make, and her blog will cover it all. Christina is a co-worker of my sister Michelle, so I asked about a possible invitation to her kitchen.
Initially, I only wanted to watch her prepare the book’s burger recipes. However, the Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog Recipe from Nitza Villapol sounded promising.
It is important to note that this was a family affair as her husband, children, parents, brother, and his squeeze were there to taste-test everything.
About the Perros Rellenos Recipe
The recipe for “Perros Rellenos” involved slicing the hot dogs longwise, putting a slice of cheese in there, wrapping them in bacon, and then cooking them for five minutes.
The recipe mentions the hot dogs coming in cans instead of the packages we’re used to. Christina’s mom confirms that hot dogs came in cans in Cuba, which is strange but not really if you think of Vienna sausages.
The other odd thing was the recipe; it said the hot dog wrapped in bacon would be cooked in five minutes in the oven.
There’s no way it would only take five minutes; it took twenty. She used Hebrew National hot dogs, Martin’s potato long buns, and Velveeta for the cheese.
Once out of the oven, she topped them with ketchup, mustard, and potato sticks. The Perro Relleno was excellent, but how could not they not be considering the ingredients she used?
Nitza Villapol’s Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pack of hot dogs (we used Hebrew National)
- 8 Slices of bacon
- 4 slices of cheese (we used Velveeta)
- 1 Small can of potato sticks
- 8 hot dog buns (we used Martin’s)
- 32 toothpicks
- Ketchup & mustard
Directions
First, preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the hot dogs lengthwise about halfway in.
3. Slice each cheese slice into 4 equally long strands
4. Stuff cheese into the hot dog cavity
5. Wrap each hot dog with one piece of bacon and use toothpicks to hold the bacon in place
6. Place wrapped hot dogs on a cookie sheet and into the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes
7. Remove toothpicks (important step)
8. Place on hot dog buns and top with potato sticks, ketchup, and mustard.
I had a great time, and I want to thank Christina and her family for having me over, being so hospitable, and allowing me to take pictures. Please check out her blog; she’s still got a bunch of great recipes to go through: La Cocina de Christina.
Also, Check Out
You should probably check out my Nitza Villapol’s Cheeseburger Recipe post.
This recipe was originally part of the post, An Afternoon in the Kitchen of the Christina/Nitza Project.