Taking popcorn and hot dogs from ordinary to extraordinary

Every week, Seattle Kitchen’s Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau add two ingredients to ordinary meals to make them extraordinary.

Don’t be embarrassed if you’re often feel too lazy to cook and reach for a bag of popcorn. If you want to make it ‘Tom Douglas’ gourmet, he recommends adding the butter and then shaking in some of his famous rub, specifically the Chinese 12.

“Our rubs have a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of spice.”

However, Tom says Lawry’s or whatever you love in your spice rack will work too.

Thierry would roll his popcorn in caramel and then serve it with vanilla ice cream.

“I’m going to put sea salt in the caramel at the last minute.”

The hot dog is a special case because both Tom and Thierry agree that it’s a classic and shouldn’t be messed with too much. This is more about technique.

Tom admits to enjoying a Costco dog once in a while. Heck, he even eats them cold at Bavarian Meats while he’s waiting for his bacon.

But if you are looking for a little extra, he says split the dog and press it like you would bacon. Get it crispy around the edges and then toast the bun. Go back to what you normally put on your dog. Tom likes BBQ Sauce.

Thierry treats it more like a sausage and recommends slicing it up into an omelette with carmelized onions.

As for lasagna, what could you possibly do to make that any more delicious? For starters, Tom says drop the pasta and go with thin, grilled eggplant.

“Make a nice vegetarian lasagna. If you want protein, put smoked salmon in between your eggplant.”

Thierry wouldn’t go that far, but just make a light salad of tomato, basil, and olive oil to serve on the side. It’ll balance the heaviness of the dish.

Seattle Kitchen can be heard on KIRO Radio Saturdays at 2-4 p.m. Available anytime ON DEMAND at MyNorthwest.com.