Baked Mini Corndogs

I subscribe to the Food Network Magazine, although I don't think I'm going to renew it when it expires.  When the magazine first came out, I thought the content was appropriate and great, and I would tear out tons of recipes to add to my food binders.  Lately though, I find myself giving the magazine away with barely one or two pages removed.  There have even been times that I haven't torn any out.

I feel like there has been more advertisements and more Food Network promotions than ever before.  And has anyone else noticed the non-recipe content has also seemed to increase?  I could be wrong about these observations.  Maybe I'm just finding the recipes dull.  Dull recipes do not inspire.  Do you hear me Food Network Magazine?!?! DULL FOOD DOES NOT INSPIRE!!!

This post is gonna sound so contradictory (is that a word?), but it's my blog and I can be contradicting if I want.  So after bitching about Food Network Magazine, I'm going to share a delicious recipe that I found in the June/July 2009 issue.  I've saved this recipe since then, which must be around the time the magazine got started.

While we are on the topic of magazines, here are the ones I currently recieve and my feelings towards them:
Food Network Magazine: See above.
Cooks Illustrated: I will probably ALWAYS subscribe to this.  It's the only publication I keep, stored in magazine binders, and I reference them often.
All You: I ordered this only for the coupons, which I heard were supposed to be really great.  I don't think they are, and if I'm lucky I only get one or two coupons out of it.  It's a good thing I paid next to nothing for a year subscription.  I won't be renewing.

I'd love to hear about what magazines you guys subscribe to and what you think of them.  Any suggestions for me and the readers here?  Leave a comment below!


Baked Mini Corn Dogs
Printable Recipe
By Food Network Magazine

• 1 cup reduced-fat milk
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
• 2 tbsp packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and kneading
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
• 9 reduced-fat hot dogs, halved crosswise
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds (optional)

1. Warm the milk to about 110 degrees in a saucepan; pour into a medium bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and let soften for about 2 minutes. Stir in the olive oil, brown sugar and cornmeal with a wooden spoon. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and cayenne pepper; stir to make a sticky dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile, insert a wooden stick or small skewer into each hot dog half, about 1 inch deep; set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly oil a large baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 18 pieces. With your palms, roll each piece into a 10-inch length. Wrap each piece around a hot dog half, tucking and pressing the edges to seal; place on the baking sheet.
4. Brush the dough-wrapped dogs with the beaten egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake until golden, 15 minutes