Moloka’i Hot Dogs: One of Like Five Things I Knew How to Cook Out of College
My first job (it was a summer job, really) was as a reporter on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i. I’d say I was an intern, except I was the only reporter who didn’t also own and publish the paper. It was fun! It’s also the reason I cook.
A lot of the fresh food that we take for granted is fairly expensive on the island because it doesn’t grow/process there and you’re halfway between California and Japan. One night I found a bone in a pepperoni Hot Pocket. Something had to give. I started cooking for myself, but I didn’t know a ton aside from hot dogs. So I made those incessantly on a grill in the apartment complex where I definitely did not live. I revisited that period for The Takeout, and turns out they’re still pretty delicious.