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Hot dogs were invented in Coney Island in 1867 by Charles Feltman when he decided the hurry crowds of people outside his restaurant needed a food that was more portable than a sit down meal of sausages. So he took one of those sausages and slapped it on a roll -- instant fast food take-away. He called his creation "Coney Island Red Hots". Customers nicknamed them "hot dogs". Later on, someone (no one can agree on who) invented a hot dog drenched in all-meat chili and onions and called it the "Coney Island Dog".
For our version you'll need:
hot dogs Cook hot dogs and prepare chili. Place hot dogs in buns and let each person prepare their Coney Island Dog as they like it, with just the right amount of chili, onions, and tomato if desired. Be sure to have ketchup and mustard on hand for those who want it. Note that many people prefer their onions grilled rather than raw, as it mellows the taste. To prepare onions this way, spray a nonstick frying pan with oil spray and heat to medium. Add chopped or sliced onions to pan and cover pan with lid. Lift lid and stir every few minutes to ensure even cooking. Onions will become tender, shiny, and somewhat see through when done.
Authentic Coney Island Chili Sauce You'll need:
2 pounds ground beef (can substitute 2 bags veggie
beef crumbles) Brown ground beef or veggie beef crumbles in nonstick skillet. (Remember to drain the oil from the ground beef.) Combine with remaining ingredients in a large cook pot. Simmer on low heat for at least 3 hours. Stir often to avoid scorching and to promote even cooking.
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For more about Coney Island Dogs, and for even more authentic sauce versions read one man's search for the Perfect Coney Island Dog
There are a couple of different approaches to this project. One is obviously to create the kabob and then cook it, especially over your outdoor grill. The other -- and we think this is much easier and foolproof -- is to simply cook the hot dogs in the microwave and then let your child add other ingredient that don't need cooking. Method #1 -- If you're going to cook your hot dog over the outdoor grill, you really need to select items that will stand up to the heat of grilling and that will cook as quickly as your hotdog. Bear in mind it's okay to "cheat" a little and precook some of the items part way. For example, you could partly cook super thick slices of carrot in the microwave, then put them on the skewer with the hot dog and finish cooking them. But other items you can put on the kabob include hunks of canned pineapple, hunks of raw apple, sweet bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes. If your child will eat onion you could let them thread pieces of onion on as well. Just don't make them very thick or they will stay mostly raw. But true onion loving kids that might be a good thing. If your child is really adventurous, try cutting a mushroom into chunky halves and adding it onto the skewer. In general, young kids prefer plain simple flavors, so you'll probably want to leave off any fancy marinades. If you really need to protect to protect a food item from drying out however (as with mushrooms) you may lightly brush it with vegetable oil. As you grill, check your kabobs often and remember to rotate them as soon as the veggies start to get crispy or browned on one side. Try not to let them blacken as small kids don't yet appreciate the charbroil effect. Note that putting the lid on your grill can help the fruits and vegetables cook quicker. Since they don't have all the fat that's in the hot dog they won't cook as quickly. Naturally you don't want to end up with shrunken leathery hot dogs and raw veggies! Don't forget to let your kabobs cool (including the skewers) before allowing kids to handle them. Also, if children have been allowed to handle uncooked meat (even hotdogs although they come from the store somewhat precooked), please remind them to wash their hands as soon as they are done. It's best to be on the safe side. And of course we always wash hands before any cooking project.
Method #2 -- If you're running a preschool or daycare grilling is probably out of the question (burn hazard). Cold weather and rainy days also preclude grilling for most of us. But kids can still have fun with kabobs by threading precooked hot dog chunks with items such as: pitted black olives, cubes of cheese, thick slices of celery, cherry tomatoes, and even raw fruit such as grapes and chunks of banana, apple, and oranges. Honeydew and cantaloupe melon are good also. In general, combine vegetables with vegetables, and keep the fruit on separate skewers. When both are grilled, they blend nicely. But kids usually find kabobs more appealing when fruits and veggies are kept segregated. Don't forget to let the hot dogs cool down before letting the children handle them. And for safety, use wooden skewers with the sharp tip snipped off. They will still work just fine.
This is such a simple project it really seems too easy to deserve space here. But we mention it because kids love it so much, and adults often never think of it. We certainly didn't think of it, until we'd seen it done. Essentially you take a hot dog and split it lengthwise up the middle, remembering to stop about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up (you can experiment and see which way looks best to you). This remainder will be the head. Now split the remaining sections again until you end up with 8 legs. If you need to cheat and have only 6 legs, it will still look cool. Just hope no budding ocean scientists are in your group or they will set you straight quickly. Now cook your creation. If you're using the microwave, try cooking on high for 20 seconds at a time, because you don't want your skinny leg sections to over cook. If you just have too much trouble with burning/crisping legs, feel free to cut the hot dog after it's already cooked. But of course you'll have to let it cool -- so it won't be hot food any longer. And your legs will just kind of hang there instead of curling up a bit, giving it that wild wavy tentacle effect. If you want, you could serve these in a soupy broth with gold fish crackers sprinkled on top. Or cook up some wild pasta, the multicolored strangely curled shapes that look like some kind of weird coral when cooked. Make a light cheesy sauce to stir into your noodles and then plop your "octopus" on top. Have fun!
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Our version of the Coney Island Dog is a little
less traditional, and influenced partly by the version sold at many
amusement parks. While our recipe calls for regular chili
beans, we include a recipe below for an 
