Beware of the Italian Chili Dog

Ladies and gentlemen…what we have here is no ordinary hot dog. At approximately 0800 hours, a golden-brown Italian sausage was taken into custody and placed inside a grilled roll dusted with parmesan, oregano, and chili flakes. Premeditated flavor. Inside the roll, a layer of Dijon pesto, green, smooth, and clearly working with outside forces. Then the accomplices arrive: peppers, mushrooms, onions, melted provolone…and what appears to be bolognese. On top of a sausage. My God. The Calabrian chili hits first…sharp, hot, aggressive. Then the anchovies come in from the side like an unmarked vehicle. Salty, stealthy. And the basil garnish? A classic attempt to appear innocent. This isn’t a chili dog. This is organized crime on a bun. And I’m going undercover for a second helping.

Ingredients

for 2 rolls

2 sub rolls
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (plus 1 tbs more)
2 tbs butter
1 tsp dried oregano (plus 1 tsp more)
1 tsp red chili flakes
1/4 cup parsley
4 cloves garlic (plus 2 cloves more)
2 tbs olive oil (plus 2 tbs more)
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs romano cheese
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 onion
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup Flint Lockwood Bolognese 2.0
1 cup grated Povolone cheese
2 tbs Calabrian chili
6 anchovies
8 basil leaves

Directions

For the rolls, trim the crust off the top and bottom of the sub roll and enough off the ends of the rolls to square them to resemble a hot dog roll. Butter the outside sides of the roll. On a small plate, but large enough to hold the roll, combine the parmesan cheese, oregano, and chili flakes. Lay the buttered sides of the roll down on the parmesan mixture to coat the sides of the roll. Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium high heat and lay the parmesan side of the roll down to melt and brown the cheese mixture, about 2 minutes per side.
For the pesto, in a small fry pan over medium heat, combine the olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic cloves. Cook, tossing frequently to prevent the nuts from burning, 3-4 minutes, or until pine nuts are golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly. Place the cooled mixture in a small food processor with the parsley, white pepper, celery salt, and dijon. Puree to a smooth paste.
For the vegetables, in a large skillet over medium high heat add the olive oil and mushrooms, season with half the salt and pepper. Cut the peppers and onions into slices, add to the cooking mushrooms, season with remaining salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, while tossing frequently, or once the vegetables are tender. Mince the garlic cloves, toss into the vegetables with the cayenne, and remove from heat. Check and adjust for seasoning.
For the sausage, on a charcoal grill, griddle, or broiler, on high heat, brown the sausage about 4 minutes per side.
To assemble the sandwich, generously coat the inside of each roll with 2 tbs of the pesto. Place the sausage in the pesto. Top each sausage with 1/2 cup of the cooked vegetables. Cover the vegetables with a 1/4 cup of the Provolone cheese, 2 tbs or bologenes, an additional 1/4 cup of the chesse, 1 tbs of Calabrian chili, and three anchovies per roll. Broil the roll 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese. Chiffonade the basil leaves and garnish the broiled rolls.
Serve.