PRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE ALPINE AVALANCHE -JUNE 16, 2016

The secret to making laundry day enjoyable… Cow Dog!

Do you look forward to doing laundry? I didn’t, until recently. Now that my husband and I live in our motorhome with our washer and dryer in storage (we are in the midst of a major remodel), I often find getting caught up with washing and drying a daunting task that could easily take an entire day to complete. When that happens, I load up and head to my favorite laundromat in Alpine, Tumbleweed Laundry.

Besides the fact that I can use the Mega- and Maxi-sized washing machines and enormous dryers and have an entire day’s worth of laundry chores complete in less than two hours, I get to eat Cow Dog hotdogs while I’m waiting. Seriously, can Laundry Day get any better? I think not.

If you’ve been to Cow Dog, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t stopped to check out the ’66 Winnebago with horns on the front of it parked in front of Tumbleweed and Plaine coffee shop, you are missing out. Alan Vannoy and his wife Kelly are the owners and operators of the Cow Dog food truck. Alan has always loved food, but didn’t take his self-taught creative foodiness public until February 2010, when they followed Alan’s passion and opened their food truck. Kelly works the window and Alan works the grill, creating mouth-watering deliciousness that set me on a mission to complete the entire menu and try one of everything.

Hot dogs are 100% all beef and come in two sizes – small and large. Alan makes his own sauces, pestos and chutneys. My first visit, I ordered the small (a regular-sized dog), but that changed the next time around, and now it’s large for me (about the size of a foot-long). A few visits into my eating-quest, I got stuck on the El Pastor.

My husband discovered the El Pastor before me, and that’s all that he orders. On laundry days, Alan and Kelly package a large El Pastor for my husband with the sauces and toppings in containers so it doesn’t get mushy on the drive back to Fort Davis. My mouth is watering just thinking about the El Pastor.

I was at the laundromat on April 1^st and went to the window to order a hot dog for me and the to-go dog for my husband. Excited about the day’s unusual special, I called to see if he’d prefer the Lobster Roll that was available that day only… of course, I knew he would. I stepped up to place our order for two lobster rolls, met by laughter from Alan who then got a slight scolding from Kelly… “April Fools!” he shouted.

“We need to take that sign down, it’s just mean. Everybody wants a lobster roll!” she said. Pretty funny if you ask me.

Even though I have the recipe, I prefer to eat Cow Dog’s hotdogs, with or without doing laundry. While there are no lobster rolls on the menu, there’s much more than just hot dogs. Go check it out. They’re located at 215 E. Holland Ave. in Alpine.

The El Pastor
(Actual recipe from Alan Vannoy)

6 Hebrew National frankfurters, butterflied
1 cup canned pineapple tidbits
½ cup chopped red onion
6 good hot dog buns grilled on the inside with butter
½ cup Lime Mayonnaise
½ cup Cilantro Pesto

Grill franks on both sides until lightly browned. Grill pineapple and onions combined in a small skillet until lightly caramelized. Top grilled buns with caramelized pineapple and onion. Place grilled frank on top of mixture and drizzle with Lime Mayonnaise and Cilantro Pesto. Wrap each dog in foil or paper, and consume soon.

Lime Mayonnaise (makes 1-1/2 cups)
juice and grated zest of 2 limes
1-1/2 cups quality mayonnaise
Thoroughly stir together ingredients. Store in fridge.

Cilantro Pesto (makes 1-1/2 cups)
2 bunches fresh cilantro
½ cup pecan pieces sauteed in 3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup good olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup distilled water
Combine all ingredients in food processor and puree completely. Store in fridge.