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Friday, February 3, 2012

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.


24 comments:

  1. ow that would be my idea of a good game snack :-) I'm not a sports fan myself but enjoy cooking all the day game goodies anyway... gives me an excuse to pig out hehe and I like that this is a bit above chips and dip :-)

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  2. Oh dear! When I see "Super Bowl" I think ..."of what?" I'm afraid I don't have the football gene either, but I am Super-Excited about all the accompanying snacks. Loving the mustard-smeared super-sausagerolls. I could make myself become a football fan if this was the incentive ;)

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  3. OOOhhh!! Look at these! These are the perfect Superbowl snacks!

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  4. This is too wonderful - I'll call them theatre snacks. On Sunday, I'm going to the theatre!

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  5. These look amazing.... I don't even need the super bowl to eat them yum. I am the extreme opposite of you. I love football and watch way to much of both college and pro football. My hubby tells me I am the greatest wife ever lol. I will be on the plane during the actual super bowl this year and just hope they have tv streaming so I can watch it. :)

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  6. I can totally relate about football. I didn't even understand head or tail of the game until I was over 30. Now that I understand a little bit of it I can tolerate a few minutes here and there. My husband is a football fan (to put it mildly). Since his beloved Ravens missed the Super Bowl by one game... he's not too excited for the Super Bowl this year (sour grapes). This shall be a "quiet" year for the Super Bowl in our house.. I may just watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. :) These pigs in blankets are fantastic. I must work with puff pastry now because they came out beautiful. Really wonderful recipe. Have a great weekend. :)

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  7. Ha! Instead of asking are we ready for some football, it should be are we ready for some funny commercials and delicious food. Superbowl is that to me!
    These are so much more than pigs in blankets, andouille sausage has lots more flavor-yum! No wonder it is always the case of the missing pigs soon after these are served. Saving this recipe. Enjoy the weekend!

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  8. We have been invited to a party too but won't know if we can attend until Sunday morning. I'm with you on the FB. I love this "upscale" take on pigs-n-a-blanket! Have a great time at your last performance.

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  9. I have to admit....I'd much rather be seated in the theater at one of your performances than before the tv on Superbowl Sunday! I am simply not a fan of football. But I will definitely use it as an excuse to make these scrumptious upscale pigs in blankets! With all of the different varieties of sausage around these days....you certainly could make these with different 'personalities' every time! This would be a perfect breakfast, lunch or brunch for me, too! Nice! : )

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  10. I'm not too keen on watching sports. But, I do like to watch the commercials. Great recipe.

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  11. these look superb the football fans in our home will like it

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  12. Haute, indeed! These look simply smashing :)

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  13. Oh I love these, pigs in blankets are a must a t the Xmas table in the UK! Yours are very posh looking indeed! I'm on your Google Connect now as LinsFood, no idea how or why I used the other account! Lin xx

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  14. What a great idea to have some ladies time while the men watch football! I think that could start a fad all over the U.S. While I don't eat pork, I bet these would be great with chicken sausage too. They look awesome!

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  15. we'll be going to our first superbowl party EVER tomorrow, and i'm hoping somebody will actually take the time to explain to us what's happening on screen. LOL

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  16. I am having a lot of gal pals over tomorrow! I really like your twist on the traditional pigs in the blanket! These look much tastier! :)

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  17. I am not a huge fan of watching sports on tv. Or sports in general. Lol. I am however a fan of your haute pigs in blankets. Delish!

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  18. I am not a person for football or super bowl but my hubby will be glued to the tv watching the games. Nice and simple bread rolls they are looking to me as. Though I am not a fan of pigs, but sure am admiring these you have made.

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  19. Oh, yeah, this is my kind of pigs in a blanket...yum! My family laughs at me when I bring a book to an NBA game...I pay a "little" more attention when it's NFL...but not a lot!
    I grew up rooting against Nebraska...living in Ames, Iowa, I can only remember one win (or was it a tie?) against the Cornhuskers when I was growing up!

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  20. The pigs in blankets looks so delicious! I don't think I have ever watched an American football...still don't get it..why is it called 'football' while play with hands?

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  21. Ooo, I think I am going to try this with some veggie sausage!

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  22. I'm not a football fan either and I so very luckily got out of watching the game yesterday. However, if someone was serving this I would have totally stayed to watch :) Sounds awesome!

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  23. This looks amazing! I love anything with sausage, and this looks perfect! No need for football to eat this!

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  24. Dropping in from FoodBuzz, Cool Site...these look awesome!

    -G

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