Spicy Pigs in a Blanket

These Spicy Pigs in a Blanket take me back to the days when I was first learning to cook. (It's also a great recipe for game day, and they are ridiculously easy to make.)

I decided to make these spicy Pigs in a Blanket to honor the old community cookbooks that, at one point, were the only cookbooks I owned besides my well worn copy of Joy of Cooking (I won't tell you which edition it was, because it makes me feel really old, and I like to keep up appearances).

When we first decided to try to buy our own home, we had to find a neighborhood we could afford that was still safe. This was the 1980's when real estate in California was beginning its rapid ascent to un-affordability.

With the help of my dad, who happened to be a real estate agent, we finally discovered Long Beach. It was this undiscovered area of houses rapidly built in the 1950s for post World War II veterans that we fell in love with. The houses were small, but the blue collar neighborhoods were the best kept secret in Southern California.

When we first moved to Long Beach, I was really lonely. I was a new mom, and had moved away from my friends.

After a few weeks of loneliness, I decide to dress my eighteen month old daughter up into her cutest outfit, put her in a stroller, and then walk around the neighborhood. This turned out to be the best move ever.

It turns out that this neighborhood was filled with original owners, folks who had lived in these homes for 30 years, and they were starved for babies!

My daughter suddenly had a coterie of surrogate grandparents, and I had these loving folks who kept an eye out for me and took care of me and my baby. Our neighbors were also always home. In every house, the kitchen windows faced the street, and I never felt more safe in a neighborhood as I did in this one.

When I had my son a couple of years later, all of the neighbors were there to take my daughter when we went to the hospital.

There was only one family in the neighborhood that had kids, two sons, who were a several years older than mine. Their mom, Donna, and I became fast friends, and she introduced me to all of the resources the Long Beach area had to offer. Thanks to her, I got involved in mom groups, made lots of friends, and found a pediatrician.

At one point, Donna and I took a series of cooking classes at the local high school via Parks and Recreation!

From these classes, we received spiral bound cookbooks that included all of the food we made. I still have those cookbooks. This recipe is inspired by one of those dishes.

This post is in honor of Donna, community cookbooks, as well as #CookBookMonth. Thanks to Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm and Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures for pulling this together. After the recipe, be sure to check out more community cookbook recipes.

And, YES, in honor of my "young mom" past, I did use Pillsbury Crescent rolls for this recipe. I am not ashamed.

Spicy Pigs in a Blanket Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds of Little Smokies cocktail sausages
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound crescent rolls sheets
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, for the egg wash

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a 12 inch non stick pan over medium high heat. Add the sausages and fry for about 5 minutes, until they are slightly caramelized.
2. Add the brown sugar, cayenne, ketchup, and Worcestershire. Stir until the sauce reduces enough to thickly coat the sausages. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the crescent dough sheets on a lightly floured work surface. Cut the dough into one inch wide strips. I use a pizza wheel. Cut each strip into about 3 pieces, widthwise.
4. Wrap the sausages with the dough and pinch to seal. Place the wrapped sausages onto the baking sheet.
5. Brush the dough with the egg wash, and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until golden.
6. Cool for a few minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 60 appetizers

Recipe inspired by Long Beach Parks and Recreation Cooking Classes and The Flavor Bender

Don’t miss these awesome community cookbook recipes for #CookbookMonth!

• Apple Cake from Making the Most of Naptime 
• Cream of Tomato Soup from Amy's Cooking Adventures 
• Funeral Potatoes from Palatable Pastime 
• Magic Coconut Bars from Family Around the Table 
• Pigs in a Blanket from Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Polish Noodles and Cabbage from A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Pumpkin Nut Cookies from Strawberry Blonde Kitchen