Hot Dog Topping Recipe: Smoked Pimento Cheese

Kentucky invented beer cheese, and today locals jealously guard their secret recipes. If you don't have one of your own, you can't do better than this one from a beloved chef.

You'll want to pour this garlicky tomato gravy on everything. Spiked with smoked sausage, it's an idea belly warmer for the cool days of fall.

Mustard and chopped chiles add some bite to this creamy slaw, but celery seed and sugar keep it firmly in nostalgic territory. It's a mouthwatering balancing act.

You can't go wrong with this classic hot dog topping, a natural partner for squiggles of ketchup and mustard.

You can do more with collard greens than stew them to death. In this recipe, vibrant raw collards add texture and flavor to a classic creamy slaw.

A splash of vanilla bridges the gap between salty bacon, sweet brown sugar and hot, grassy dried chiles in this easy but masterfully balanced recipe.

Let the pit master do the work. Thick with smoked pork and green chiles, this is the rare chili that comes together in just a few minutes – and it still tastes like it's been simmering for hours.

There are a few steps to this old-fashioned topping. First, you make sauerkraut. Then, you toss it in a sweet-and-sour syrup that adds another spike of flavor. Altogether, it's less than half an hour of work for an impressive result.

A staple at the chef's family get-togethers, this flavor-packed relish can marinate in the fridge for a couple of days before you deploy it for hot dogs. You'll have no problem using any leftovers as a dressing for green salads or a straight-up side dish.

It all started as a love for classic Southern food and grew into a catering business, then the Soul House and now the Downtown Dive. Sweet P's Barbeque in Knoxville, Tennessee is a cornerstone of the southern soul food scene. The restaurant's owner, Chris Ford, agreed to share some of the tricks of the trade.