Hot dogs are an American tradition and I'm willing to bet that almost any of you who went to a Fourth of July barbeque probably had the option to eat one, even if you chose not to. That being said, you can make a hot dog even more all-American with a little extra work -that's where the Vulgar Chef comes in.

When the Fourth came around this year, the Vulgar Chef took advantage of the holiday by making the most American hot dog of all time -the Independence Dog. This delightful monstrosity takes a typical hot dog, wraps in bacon, then covers it in in ground beef. The meat log is then deep fried, covered in marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni and then served on a bun made of deep fried macaroni and cheese. 

Let freedom ring my friends!

Cheese and butter go back a long way as methods of preserving milk. But fresh milk was considered baby food, or a boost for growing children, through most of history. Only about a hundred years ago did milk drinking become common among adults. That was because of the convergence of several trends around the beginning of the 20th century. First, the milk trade became regulated and safer (see our previous articles on that development). Then there was the craze for healing through nutrition, which led to the development of cereals, served with milk (see our previous article on that). And there was the Temperance movement, with groups trying to get men to drink anything besides alcohol (which we also covered). Read more about these trends and how they led to people rushing out to buy milk before a snowstorm hits, at BBC Future. -via mental_floss

How many Oreo cookies do you want to eat? I'll have just one--provided that it's one of these. YouTube user Hey! It’s Mosogourmet used special plastic baking pans to create this massively scaled-up version of an Oreo cookie. The creme filling has broken Oreos inside, so it's truly authentic. Now I'd like to have a huge glass of milk in which to dunk mine.

-via That's Nerdalicious!

It's a bowl of Cap'n Crunch cereal in the most literal sense possible. Amy of the sugar-packed and deep fried food blog Oh, Bite It! made this bowl out of Cap'n Crunch, marshmallows, and butter. It's pretty much Rice Krispie treats (except with Cap'n Crunch instead of Rice Krispies) molded into the shape of a bowl.

As a result, the entire meal, right down to the bowl, is edible. Amy fills hers with milk and Cap'n Crunch, but you could use it to eat pretty much any liquid at all. I suggest trying Taco Bell's Cap'n Crunch frosting balls mixed with chocolate milk.

A group of sassy Italian grandmothers, who have cooked all their lives, get a taste of Olive Garden dishes for the first time.

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Their opinions are varied… well, they all hated it except for two sisters who were probably pretty hungry at the time. And they don’t mind to tell you exactly what went wrong. -via Buzzfeed

We all scream for ice cream, but you know what makes us scream even louder? Zombies. Fortunately, this brutal ice cream truck is ready to serve up all kinds of screams to unsuspecting victims patrons. And that's only one of the crazy trucks out there delivering delicious ice cream to the masses. Check out the rest of the list over at InventorSpot.

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In Episode 32, the most recent episode of Anglophenia, host Kate Arnell explains all of the culinary components that make up a full English breakfast. How does it look to you, people not of English descent? Americans who've traveled to England, what did you think when you were met with your first English breakfast as shown in this video? Was it to your liking? I wish I could say I was a fan, but I can't honestly say that. I generally opted for an egg (cooked a bit longer than their usual time), some of their delicious tea and a slice of toast. -Via Laughing Squid

A cherpumple is a cherry pie, a pumpkin pie, and an apple pie all baked separately, then baked into cake layers, which are then stacked and iced. It is a thing of glory sometimes attributed to American humorist and chef Charles Phoenix.

We most recently saw Phoenix unveil to the world his Uncle Watermelon party game and snack. He’s already getting prepared for the holiday weekend with a special cherpumple called the Cheruble. This recipe replaced the pumpkin pie with a blueberry pie, then seals the three pies inside red, white, and blue cakes in reflection of the colors of the US flag.

If you’re French, then you can use the same design for the upcoming Bastille Day. Just alter the order of the layers to match the French revolutionary flag.

-via Foodiggity

Rockhound is an affectionate term for people who collect minerals, and rockhounds enjoy sniffing out and digging up new stones while they’re out exploring the natural world.

Mineral collectors are always looking for new pieces to add to their collection, and when they make a discovery they like to brag about the tasty new treat they discovered during a dig.

But even the most mineral hungry rockhounds should refrain from trying to chew on these delicious looking plates of simulated food spotted by Rock Feast at the 2015 San Diego County Fair.

These replica food products are made out of 100 percent mineral, and they're so lifelike they look tasty even when you're close enough to see what's cooking.

-Via Boing Boing

Hot dogs have become an integral part of the American barbecue, and this Fourth of July there are bound to be thousands of weenies getting grilled in backyards across the country.

But hot dogs are one of those universally liked food products that nobody can seem to agree on, because everybody likes their dog done up their way.

There are the tomato and pickle loving people in Chicago, the spicy pepper fans in Arizona, and this monstrosity representing Iowa:

Suffering succotash, what happened to that poor hot dog?!

See The United Hot Dogs Of America here

VinePair's 26 Honest Wine Labels poke fun at the mini melodramas that often come up when one gets closer and closer to the bottom of that wine bottle. Feel free to pour another glass while you pour over the easy reading material that is the label on these beauties. Check out the entire collection at the link above to see which bottle is right for your discerning tastes. -Via Fooddiggity
 

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Pancake art has become such a refined art form that it's now possible to create images in pancake batter that are nearly photographic in their degree of realism. YouTube member Tiger Tomato demonstrates this by recreating cartoon characters, such as Rainbow Dash, Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Finn the Human.

It's a father and son team in Melbourne, Australia. Together, they carefully outline the images in reverse, fill them in with layered colors, then flip the pancakes over to reveal the completed pictures. You can see more at their YouTube channel.

-via Incredible Things

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal throughout the United States. To celebrate marriage equality, Vermont-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry has renamed their Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream "I Dough, I Dough".

"Ben & Jerry’s is proud of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision against discrimination as it boldly stands up for equality for same sex couples everywhere," said Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim, "And at Ben & Jerry’s, there’s only one way to celebrate: with a scoop of I Dough, I Dough, Marriage equality never tasted so good!”

Candy loving kids have been known to chew a pack of gum at a time, and if they have artistic inclinations they might turn that chewed up wad of gum into something shapely, like a small sculpture or sticky multi-colored ball.

But even Bazooka Joe himself couldn’t turn chewing gum into works of art as incredible as these pink bubblegum sculptures by Maurizio Savini.

The gum Maurizio uses in his works has not been chewed, it's unwrapped and melted into "layers of usable material" which is then applied to a plaster or fiberglass mold to help stabilize the sculpture's shape.  

-Via Beautiful/Decay

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The recipe is simplicity itself: make scrambled eggs, then add bread crumbs, and mix. Dip the whole Big Mac hamburger into the breading, then deep fry it. The food blog Peep My Eats has a great idea that can work at home. But, ideally, McDonald's restaurants will offer this service on site.

Here's a time-lapse video of the preparation process.

-via That's Nerdalicious!