Food & Wine: Hogs in a Blanket Recipe + Fig & Stilton Squares

Today Show: Party Appetizers

Food & Wine test kitchen senior editor Justin Chapple was in Today’s Kitchen to show off some simple five-ingredient appetizer ideas. From Hogs in a Blanket to Smoked Salmon Involtini, there are plenty of great ideas to choose from.

Today Show: Food & Wine Hogs in a Blanket Recipe Ingredients

Justin Chapple said that these Hogs in a Blanket are a better version of Pigs in a Blanket. “What you get are these incredible, puffy Hogs in a Blanket,” Chapple said of what happens after the freezing step in this process.

As a bonus tip, you can prepare these and leave them unbaked in the freezer for up to one month. Just thaw them before putting them in the oven.

• 7 oz thawed Puff Pastry (cut in four 5” squares)
• 4 3-oz Andouille Sausages
• 2 tbsp Whole Grain Mustard
• 1 Egg Yolk (+1 tbsp Water)
• 1/4 cup Major Grey’s Chutney

Food & Wine: Today Show Hogs in a Blanket Recipe Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 375 F.
2. Brush the edges of each puff pastry square with egg wash.
3. Put the sausages on the bottom edges of each square and roll the pastry up, pressing at the edges to form a seal.
4. Freeze the rolled sausages for about 10 minutes so they firm up.
5. Slice each rolled sausage into 1/2” pieces and arrange them in three mini muffin pans with the cut sides facing up. Bake about 25 minutes, until golden.
6. Let cool on a rack lined with paper towels.
7. Roughly pulse chutney with mustard in a food processor and serve as a dipper for the Hogs in a Blanket.

Food & Wine: Today Show Fig & Stilton Squares Recipe Ingredients

Puff pastry comes to the rescue again for this simple snack. You can serve it baked or at room temperature.

• 1 14-oz package thawed Puff Pastry
• 3/4 cup Stilton Cheese crumbles
• 1/2 cup Fig Preserves

Today Show: Food & Wine Fig & Stilton Squares Recipe Directions

1. Roll out the puff pastry on a flour-dusted prep surface to a rectangle of about 16” x 11 1/2”. Trim it down to 15” x 10 1/2” and put it on a large baking sheet with a rimmed edge.
2. Cut the pastry into four dozen 1 3/4” squares. Freeze the squares for about half an hour.
3. Preheat the oven at 375 F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Place 12 square on the parchment and top them with a second sheet of paper. Place another baking sheet on top, nested inside the first. (Repeat this with another set of baking sheets, if you have them.)
5. Bake pastry for about 35 minutes per batch, until golden. Let squares cool as you repeat the process until all have been baked.
6. Arrange cooled squares on a baking sheet and top them with 1/2 tsp fig preserves. Sprinkle Stilton crumbles on top and bake about five minutes, just enough to start melting the cheese.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature.