There are ball games, movies, and board games—reasons to gather in the family room on a cold winter evening. All call for a little complimentary food. Here are three choices worth considering.
Pigs in a Blanket
I grew up with pigs in a blanket and loved them! My mother wrapped biscuit dough around sausages or hot dogs. They were quick and easy, and her kids were excited about them. She could add a salad and maybe some chips and had a meal. A blanket wrapped around a hot dog—or better, a brat—sure beats a store-bought bun. A narrow strip of cheddar down the center of the dog makes them even better.
For one of our parties we took Lit’l Smokies, smothered them in a whipped mustard spread, and wrapped them in pizza dough. They were fantastic—great snacking or party fare.
How to Make Pigs in a Blanket with Bread or Pizza Dough
You’ll need sausages, brats, or hot dogs plus bread dough. Our pizza crust mixes are perfect because the dough is soft and easy to work with, without spring-back.
Mix the dough according to package instructions. (With a stand-type mixer and a dough hook, add the water and yeast and mix for four minutes.)
Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out the shapes. For little sausages, we used 2-inch diameter circles. For hot dogs—because they are longer—you’ll want rectangles or ovals.
Spread mustard or another condiment on the dough. Take note not spread mustard where the two edges will overlap.
If you are using brats or hotdogs, consider splitting them and placing a strip of cheese in the split.
Wrap the dough around the meat pressing the two dough edges together where they overlap. Let rest for 30 to 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in volume.
Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes or until the dough starts to brown. Serve hot.
How to Make Pigs in a Blanket with Biscuit Dough
We used our classic butter-based biscuit recipe and hot dogs to make these pigs in a blanket. You can use a good biscuit mix. Our New England Cheddar Biscuit Mix works great.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold butter cut in pieces
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
hot dogs or sausages
Whipped mustard or other spreads
cheddar cheese (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse pieces.
Add buttermilk and stir the mixture with a fork until most of the dry ingredients have been moistened. Turn the ingredients onto the counter and knead and fold until the dough is formed. Do not knead longer than necessary.
Roll or pat the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into a circle with a biscuit cutter for small sausages or into oblong or rectangular pieces for hot dogs. (The tendency is to roll the dough too thick. Remember that the dough will double in thickness when baked.)
Spread mustard or another condiment on the dough. Do not spread mustard where the two edges will overlap. My favorite is the Elki Maple Bacon Whipped Mustard Spread.
Place a hot dog or sausage on each. For hot dogs, slice the dogs lengthwise about half-way through the dog. Place mustard or a cheese stick in the opened dog.
Fold the dough around the dog or sausage. Place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet.
Bake for 9 minutes or until the tops are just golden brown and biscuits sound hollow when gently tapped. Serve warm.
Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
10 to 12 chicken wings
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup hot sauce (we use a red taco sauce)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
Directions
1. Cut off the wing tips at the first joint.
2. In a shallow dish, mix the melted butter, hot sauce, honey, paprika, salt, and pepper together. Tumble the chicken wings through the sauce, cover with plastic, and marinade for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature. (For safety reasons, do not leave the chicken out for an extended period.)
3. Place the prepared wings on a boiler pan. Set the oven to broil. Set the pan about five inches from the elements. Broil for ten minutes or until done. Serve hot.
Candy Popcorn
We found a source for popcorn, fresher and better than what we can get in the warehouse stores. The trouble is that we have to drive nearly six hours round trip to get it. That’s okay. Merri Ann and I take time out to go get it together. It’s a delightful time together driving through the countryside.
Being basically frugal, we take our Toyota to save on gas. On our last trip we backed it up to this country warehouse and a worker pushed open an overhead door. He was a little taken back to find a sedan, not a pick-up and was little perplexed, “Where are you going to put 700 pounds of popcorn?” Some in the trunk and some in the back seat—enough in the back seat that the tail doesn’t drag.
We’ve developed some popcorn kits, popcorn with a really good candy mix in five flavors. We’ve sold thousands of these little kits, enough that we get to make this trip often.
We’d like you try our kit. Choose a flavor. Use this code and get a kit for a buck!
Only $1.00! Get a candy popcorn kit for a dollar with code “LDSPOP.” Limit 1 per order.
Peppermint Patty’s Pink Peppermint Popcorn
There are a thousand ways to make candy popcorn—choose a flavor, choose a color. This is one of my favorites.
When we concocted this popcorn, we envisioned popcorn black as midnight. But you don’t completely cover every puffed kernel; you have shadows and light—moonlight at midnight. I’m not a black licorice fan but this is very good popcorn.
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup white corn syrup (Karo)
1/8 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons peppermint flavor
2 drops of Americolor Electric Pink food coloring gel or equal
Yields 14 cups of candy popcorn. This recipe can also be doubled successfully.
Pop the popcorn kernels. Set aside in 2 large bowls.
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.
Add the corn syrup and water. Stir.
Add the sugar. Make sure not to let any sugar stick to the edges of the pan. If one grain of sugar is left undissolved, it can cause the whole batch to crystallize.
Bring to a boil and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 235-245 degrees. (Please use a candy thermometer). It is important for the mixture to reach this temperature, if it doesn’t the candy will not harden properly.
Add the baking soda and stir quickly as the mixture begins to bubble. Once bubbly and frothy, remove the pan from heat.
Add the flavor and food coloring until mixed in.
Pour over the popped popcorn in both bowls. Fold into the popcorn until evenly coated.
Enjoy your fun family food!
About the Author
Dennis Weaver has burned food from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Miami, Florida. He is the founder of The Prepared Pantry in Rigby, Idaho. He loves to help people bake and shares his vast collection of cooking and baking knowledge on his blog as well as in his e-books and magazines. Dennis lives in Rigby, Idaho, with his wife, Merri Ann. They have five wonderful children and six beautiful granddaughters.