Nothing screams summer like hot dogs in the backyard.

Since my coronary artery disease makes hot dogs a bad idea, I had to come up with an alternative.

What I landed on is portobello mushroom strips with onions and peppers in a hot dog bun with various toppings.

I find that the mushrooms actually have a similar bite to a hot dog, and I already love the combo of mushrooms onions and peppers.

Check out the recipe below if you want to make your own Cool Cats.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with the name Cool Cats, since it is an obvious play on the name hot dog, but I think it sounds better than Mushroom and Onion Sandwich on a Hot Dog Bun.

The key is the mushroom base, because as I said it kind of feels like biting into a hot dog.

This isn't going to be a very formal recipe, because you really can't go wrong if you just cook up some mushrooms, onions and peppers.

I start with pre-sliced portobello mushrooms. They are long and narrow, and although I could buy large portobello caps and slice them myself, I prefer to save a step.

Depending on how many people I'm feeding, I'll slice up either the whole onion or half. I prefer sweet onions for this, and if I can get them Vidalias. Having lived much of my life in the Atlanta area, I have fully embraced the sweet onions grown around Vidalia, Georgia. The soil and water do make for some outstanding onions.

Likewise I'll use half or a whole pepper. If I'm feeling particularly festive I'll use red, yellow and green peppers.

If you like spicy, I'd recommend subbing in a Poblano pepper.

You could throw in some other veggies if you like. I've added a few carrot shreds in the past, but mostly I like to keep it pretty simple.

Now we just need to heat up some olive oil over medium heat. You don't want to burn the oil, and olive oil can be a bit finicky about it.

Just drop all the veggies in at the same time.

Peppers, onions and mushrooms will all cook for about the same time.

When I cook, I really don't time things. I'm going for the onions to become transluscent and the mushrooms to change color and texture.

If you want a time, I'd say somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes on medium heat.

Just keep an eye on them.

As you can see, I kind of overfilled the pan, so it took a bit longer than usual.

Now it's time to build a sauce.

I drop in about a tablespoon of plant based butter.

Next I hit it with about a tablespoon or so of soy sauce. I try to get the lower sodium version, but if you are really watching your salt feel free to omit it entirely.

It does give a really nice umami flavor.

Next I put in about a teaspon or so of Worcestershire sauce.

Last is the Balsamic vinegar.

If you have some good, thick Balsamic, then I'd go about a teaspoon and a half. If it is thinner and tangier, I'd go with about half a teaspoon.

Once that's had a couple of minutes to come together and thicken up just a bit, you are ready to kill the heat and start putting shrooms in buns.

I love a good brioche bun, but any soft hot dog bun will do.

You can really put any toppings and condiments you like, but I like some Dijon mustard. You definitely don't see an olive oil mayo jar in the background. You may judge me for putting mayo on a hot dog, but you may not judge me for putting it on a Cool Cat.

I've put a variety of toppings on these things. I love a Chicago style hot dog, so you can go that route. Bánh Mì style pickled veggies also rock, but I can't always find them.

So what do you think? Want to try a Cool Cat at your next summer dinner in the backyard?

You can totally do these on the grill if you like. I've done that before and they are good, but I kind of prefer the pan where I can whip up a sauce.

I honestly don't miss hot dogs. I certainly don't miss the indigestion that I got every single time I ever ate a hot dog.

I think the key to enjoying what I'm eating is to not try too hard to replicate something else. There are vegan and vegetarian “sausages” that you can use, but they are trying so hard to be hot dogs, that I notice that they aren't hot dogs. My Cool Cats aren't trying to fool anyone into thinking they are hot dogs. They share a bun and some toppings, but they are decidely not hot dogs. Hence the name Cool Cats.

If you give them a try, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!