Peru Woman Finalist in Fenway Frank Contest
 Peru resident Dana DiSantis' recipe is in the running to be the next Fenway Frank. |
PERU, Mass. – A local women is hoping the Berkshires will rally 'round her recipe for the ultimate Fenway dog.
Dana DiSantis is a semi-finalist in this year's Kayem Fenway Frank Contest for her "Monstah" hot dog recipe.
DiSantis said she entered the contest on a whim after seeing it online. However, out of hundreds of contestants, the "Monstah" made it into the top five.
"When I got my congratulatory email I was very surprised," DiSantis said.
Her hot dog is a tribute to the Boston Red Sox's "Green Monster" and all things New England.
"I love to cook so I made up a batch of my own version of Boston baked beans, and everything I used … was either local or a New England product," she said.
DiSantis' recipe not only contains Boston baked beans but finely minced caramelized Vidalia onions from an organic farmer, bacon from Berkshire Organics, bourbon molasses mustard from Stone Wall Kitchens out of Springfield, and special reserve Vermont cheddar.
Kayem's beef franks were named the official Fenway Frank in 2009. The company was founded nearly a century ago in Chelsea by Polish immigrant Kazimierz Monkiewicz (thus the "K-M" name). Contestants had to come up with a recipe using Kayem's frankfurters that tied in with the Red Sox, Fenway Park and Boston.
The other four recipes in the running are the "Boston Boss" (salami, pepperoni, melted mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce); "Game Seven" (sauerkraut, crumpled smokey bacon, mac & cheese and warm chili); "Greenville Drive Southern Dog," (smokey pulled pork and coleslaw); and "Rueben Dog" (sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island Dressing).
"Our daughter's graduation party is coming up so I told all of our friends and family who have been voting I would make the hot dogs at the graduation party for them whether I win or not," DiSantis said.
Voting closes July 9 so fans only have a day to vote for her recipe on Kayem's Facebook page.
If she is among the two finalists, she will be on a Boston morning news show during which the hot dogs will undergo a taste test. The winner gets $1,000 and will be introduced at a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park; Kayem will sell the dog at the park for a year.
"I really appreciate everyone who has voted," she said. "… We live in a tiny little community in the Berkshires so it's kind of cool that this little recipe from Peru, Massachusetts, made it into the top five."
Tags: fenway, food contest, hot dogs, Red Sox,
