Are You Ready for Some Football?

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I am not a football fan.

I grew up in football country.  My lack of attention to the football games of my high school years, in which I played in the marching band but yet never managed to absorb the rules of the game, is infamous.  My master's degree is from the University of Nebraska, one of the famous football schools.  I didn't go to a single game while I was there, although in my defense I was working two jobs in addition to my classes. 

David and I are invited to Super Bowl parties every year, and if I don't have other plans I'll tag along and read a book, glancing up occasionally at the commercials.  This too has earned me much mocking.

This year I don't have to endure the mocking, as the final show of Love, Loss and What I Wore is on Sunday afternoon.  I'm hoping that our audience will be a big group of women who ditched their husbands/significant others in front of the television and yelled "I'm going to go have some fun with the girls--don't wait up for me!" as as they raced out the door.

However, when I was deciding what to post next, this was the clear winner--an easy, totally delicious finger food that is as at home at a Super Bowl party as it was at the New Year's Eve party where they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The key here is really good-quality sausage.  The original recipe calls for lamb sausage, but I substituted a spicy chicken andouille.  It would be interesting with a good chicken apple sausage, but whatever you use, make sure it has some personality.

Haute Pigs in Blankets

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

4 large links andouille sausage (about 1 lb.)

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 egg

1 tbsp. milk

Whisk together the egg and milk and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and place the sausages on a  cookie sheet.  Bake sausage until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through.

While the sausage is baking, place the sheets of puff pastry on a floured surface so the pastry won't stick.  Slice each sheet of pastry in half lengthwise and brush with the Dijon mustard.

When the sausage is cooled, place one link on each length of puff pastry.  Roll it up, covering the entirety of each sausage and brushing the ends with the egg wash and pinching them to thoroughly seal the bundles.  If there is extra puff pastry on the ends, trim it off.  Repeat with the other sausages.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and space the sausage rolls out on it.  Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining egg wash and lightly score the tops of the rolls into 6-7 pieces.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the rolls are browned.  Cool for about five minutes, slice and serve.