Recipe for Pigs in Blankets Tasting Party

As you round up your buddies to watch the Super Bowl^®, don’t forget the second most important part of football: the snacks. What better way to celebrate the pigskin than with a pigs in blankets tasting party?

As any fan of the biscuit dog will tell you, when comfort food and finger food converge, magical things happen. This much-loved combo of sausage wrapped in dough is the ultimate low-maintenance appetizer, and also a perfect blank slate for some imaginative tweaking. I decided to put different spins on them, using a variety of toppings, and after a rigorous taste test (conducted by myself, my husband Eric and my friend Shaighn), we came up with some tasty variations:

• Relish and caramelized onions: The winner!
• Jalapeño and grated cheddar: A close contender for the top spot.
• Pepperoncini and bacon; pepperoncini and Dijon; peppernocini and caramelized onions: The verdict is anything with pepperoncini is good.
• Caramelized onions and chopped shiitake mushrooms: Earthy and delicious, but caramelized onions are also delish by themselves.
• Mustard and relish: We tried hot and sweet mustard on a variety of dogs, but found it was too sweet. Dijon is the way to go.
• Avocado, bacon and cheddar: This was the heaviest one of the bunch — good but greasy.
• Chutney and cream cheese: This got mixed reviews because some detected an aftertaste, but it was good enough to make the cut.
• Black olive tapenade and cream cheese: Better than chutney and cream cheese.
• Black olive tapenade and roasted red bell pepper: Delicious.

Read on for the recipe...

Pigs in Blankets

piggies

• 2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
• 48 cocktail franks

toppings

• Sweet pickle relish
• Grated cheddar
• Sliced, jarred jalapeños
• Roasted red peppers from a jar
• Sliced pepperoncini from a jar
• Mango chutney (such as Major Grey’s)
• Black olive tapenade
• Dijon mustard
• Cream cheese cubes
• ½ avocado, diced
• ½ onion, sliced, sautéed for 10 minutes and cooled
• 1 shiitake mushroom, sautéed for 5 minutes or until soft, then chopped
• 2 to 4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Separate dough from 2 packages of crescent rolls into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle into thirds. Place cocktail frank on widest end of each triangle, and add toppings. If using tapenade, mango, or mustard, spread condiments on dough and then place cocktail frank on top. Roll each up tightly. Place on cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 48

Comments

Pigs in blankets are my go-to appetizers for parties. I've made the dough myself (so not worth the extra time) and used crescent dough. Being the perfectionist that I am, I never quite mastered how to cut the crescent dough to make all the pigs in blankets look the same. (I know, I'm probably the only one who cares.) So the last time I made them, I bought the Pillsbury bread sticks. The dough is pretty much the same as the crescent dough, but it's cut into uniform strips. So easy!

What about dipping sauces? Does anyone use anything other than ketchup and spicy mustard? Or maybe these toppings make it so you don't even need dipping sauces. Can't wait to try!

try cutting the crescent the long way to make 2 really skinny crescents. I use them with bits of chicken that i've dipped in egg, then coated with the French's french fried onions...EVERYONE loves them!!

How about dipping them in good old fashioned rotel cheese dip! It's better than you would imagine.

While these are not pigs in blankets, this is my favorite recipe for game day - Bake Little Smokies (425 for 25 mins in an 8x8x2 baking dish) in a sauce of 1/3 cup brown sugar, 3 Tblspns ketchup, 2 Tblspns Worcestershire, 2 Tblspsn Dijon, 1 tspn Tabasco - then serve them with a dipping sauce made by blending 1-8 oz jar mango chutney, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice & 1 Tblspn grated lime peel until smooth and then whisk in 3/4 cup mayo (make this sauce the day before for flavors to blend) - excellent!!