Hot dog heaven

Lori's Kamikaze Dog

If you love hot dogs -- and who doesn't? (wait, don't answer that) -- the place to be yesterday was the sun-baked backyard of a big, sprawling home in North Portland.

Saturday was the 4th Annual Hot Dog Competition at the home of Simone and Kyndall. It's a prestigious affair -- by invitation only -- that draws an entertaining mix of  their friends and a few of us family.

On the surface, it's about friendly competition. People are invited to prepare an original topping that can be served atop four or five hot dogs, then cut into smaller pieces for everyone else to sample. After everyone has had a chance to sample as many as they like, everyone votes for their top three and prizes are awarded to the top three vote-getters.

Really, though it's all about fun -- and indulging in the culinary creativity that defines Portland.

The venue: Simone & Kyndall's backyard

Launched in 2010, the event moved back east for two years while the girls were living in Pittsburgh, but returned this year to its ancestral home in Portland. The first-place prize -- a faux gold cologne decanter in the form of a statuette of Abe Lincoln -- also traveled from east to west. The winner keeps is for a year, then brings it back to the next year's competition.

Three years ago, I brought what must have been the lamest entry in the competition -- tri-colored tortilla chips that you could crush and serve with salsa. Wow. Exciting, huh?

This year I significantly upgraded with the " PBJGC" -- a food cart-inspired conocction of Peanut Butter, Jam (Oregon blackcap raspberry) and Goat Cheese crumbles). Sweet and savory. But still hopeless outclassed by some of the other entries:

-- The Chimi (Kyndall), Mexican-style chimichanga with beans, cheese and salsa).
-- The Porker (Jordan), Oaxacan-style pork with sauteed onions and raisins
-- Bomb Mi, modeled after the Vietnamese sandwich called banh mi
-- Kamikaze Dog (Lori), fresh veggies and sticky rice held together by nori (seaweed).
-- Puerco Yaki, pulled pork with teriyaki sauce.
-- Macchu Poochu (Simone), Peruvian-style blend of sauteed beef, onions, peppers and french fries.
-- The BLT, exactly what you think it is
-- The Yum Dog (Nathan), a Thai peanut sauce with Asian cole slaw
-- Various recipes calling for bacon-wrapped dogs.

-- And last but not least, The Gandolfini. Too many ingredients for me to remember and served too late in the afternoon for my already full stomach to accommodate even one more sample. It was prepared by a young married couple, as they passed their infant son back and forth between them, and was voted the runaway winner.

Just some of the entries

With 12 dozen hot dogs spread among four crock pots, a barbecue grill, a deep fryer and all this gastrointestinal goodness, it's no wonder that I hope the tradition will continue in 2014.