Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 15 - Sausage Rolls

At the request of Bob's cousin, David Stull, here is what I know about Sausage Rolls, another  yummy British appetizer.  I'm fairly certain that our older sons all existed on these for a few years.

First: British sausage is not the same as American sausage.  It's spiced differently and the texture is a much finer grind.  That being said, since Americans are used to American sausage, they're going to think these are wonderful with American sausage.  If you know of a good British market near you, definitely try to get British-style sausage.

On to the recipe:

The first recipe that I have is ridiculously simple.

Sausage Rolls

1 lb. bulk sausage
1 pkg. puff pastry sheets, thawed
dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay the puff pastry sheet out onto a lightly floured surface.  If it is already divided into 10 sections, go ahead and separate them.  If not, cut it evenly down the center, lengthwise, then into 5 sections each to get 10 squares.  Spread dijon mustard lightly on each piece of pastry.  Take a golf ball sized piece of sausage and roll it into a log shape, about the same size as the width of the pastry square.  Lay it onto the pastry and roll it up, pressing lightly at the seam to seal the pastry.  Set onto a baking sheet. Brush each roll with the beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes - start checking it around 12 minutes - until pastry is puffed and golden and sausage is cooked through.

The second recipe is from Epicurious.com and uses more spices in its mixture.

Sausage Rolls

1 1/2 lbs. good quality pork sausage
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
1 pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the sausage, basil, oregano, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste until all the seasonings are well distributed throughout.2
2. Roll out all the puff pastry into one large rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Put the wide side of the rectangle to your left. Form the sausage meat into a log about 1 inch thick and long enough to fit the width of the pastry. Lay this log along the whole edge. Roll the pastry around the sausage, brush with beaten eggs at the join, and cut so that the pastry has just enough room to slightly overlap. Repeat the process with the remaining sausage meat and pastry. Line up all the sausage rolls making sure the seam on each is at the bottom and not showing. Brush the tops with the eggs and cut the sausage rolls into either 1 1/2-or 3-inch logs.3
3. Spread about one inch apart on a baking sheet, and bake until golden brown and the meat is cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes. You can also freeze the rolls to be cooked later. Serve warm or cold.
2. Reprinted with permission from Eating Royally by Darren McGrady, (C) © 2007 Thomas Nelson Inc.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sausage-rolls-364750

Recipe Advent Calendar - December 4th and 5th - Appetizers

Oh dear!  I spent the whole day at the Temple yesterday and then went to bed at 9 pm, thinking I would just take a nap and then get up, but it didn't work that way.  So, today, I'm going to post two Appetizer recipes.

The first one is Crab Meat Rangoons.  We got this recipe from Bob's brother Ken Stull when he returned from his mission in the Philippines.  It's easy and delicious and these disappear as fast as we can make them.

1/4 lb. crab meat or large can of fancy crab meat
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 green onion, chopped
1 pkg wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten (water works too, but not as well)
oil for deep frying

Mix the crab, cream cheese and the green onion by hand - don't use a mixer.  Place a tablespoonful of the mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper.  Wet the edges of the wrapper with the beaten egg and fold in half, pressing down on the edges to seal.  Deep fry in the heated oil until a light brown.

That's it! Super simple and super delicious.

The second one is Scotch Eggs.  Another fried one, sorry. I remember my Dad making these for us when we were younger.  I kept thinking it was after he went to Scotland, but I never actually saw these in Scotland and I think it was just from a cooking class he and my mom took.  I never saw them again until I went to the Renaissance Festival here in Maryland, where they sell them at one of the stalls.  The key to keeping the sausage on the egg is to dry the egg with a paper towel prior to wrapping it.  It's a problem! I have been highly frustrated many times by trying to keep the sausage layer from falling off.  LOL This recipe only makes 4 and you'll definitely need more than that, so just multiply it as many times as you need.

1/2 lb. of bulk pork sausage, like Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean's
4 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled
seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper and anything else you want to add. Paprika works well, so does a little sage.
1 large egg, beaten
Bread crumbs in a wide bowl
Oil for deep frying

Divide the sausage into 4 equal portions.  On a floured board, roll each portion into a circle.  Peel and dry the hard boiled eggs.  Roll the peeled, hard boiled eggs in the seasoned flour, just lightly.  Place an egg on each circle of sausage and wrap the sausage around the egg, covering it completely.  Dip it into the beaten egg, then roll in the bread crumbs until coated.  Repeat if desired for a more crunchy coating.  Deep fry in 350 degree hot oil for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.  Drain well on paper towels.  Serve either hot or cold.

So, there you go... a couple of non-diet appetizers for today.  Enjoy!

Recipe Advent Calendar - December 3rd - Black Hills Golden Egg Bake

Eeek!  Three days in and I almost forgot to do this! LOL  Having a great time working on my daughter-in-law's genealogy today and getting ready to spend tomorrow at the Temple for our Temple Jubilee day, plus with teaching and planning for Seminary and helping with Tommy's Cub Scout outing, my mind was elsewhere.

I decided to stick with breakfast for today.  Mainly because of this quote from Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne:
" 'When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,' said Piglet at last, 'what's the first thing you say to yourself?'
" 'What's for breakfast?' said Pooh. 'What do you say, Piglet?'
" 'I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?' said Piglet. 
"Pooh nodded thoughtfully. 'It's the same thing,' he said." 

The other breakfast recipe that is requested a lot is one that I found online a few years ago on Taste of Home.  It's called Black Hills Golden Egg Bake.  I don't make it exactly like the recipe, as normal, but it's really yummy just as the author posted it. It is one of our typical Christmas morning recipes along with Aebelskiver. I've never had anyone say that they disliked it. Here's the link: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/black-hills-golden-egg-bake


Black Hills Golden Egg Bake
1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1/4 c. butter, cubed
10 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt, optional
2 c. (16 oz.) 4% cottage cheese
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
(I just use the shredded Mexican blend instead of these two and like it better.)
1/2 lb. bulk pork sausage, cooked and drained
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 can (2 1/4 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained (seriously, my family would disown me if I put olives in anything, so these are never, ever added.)

Grease a 9x13 pan with butter and set aside. In a small skillet, sauté the mushrooms and peppers in butter until tender.  I've also thrown in Thrive Foods reconstituted freeze-dried spinach and other peppers and they're also good.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, flour, baking powder and salt.  Blend together then add mushroom mixture.  Add remaining ingredients and pour into greased pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 25-35 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serves 10-12 servings.

I heard of someone lining the baking pan with crescent rolls and then pouring in the ingredients to make a flaky crust, but I haven't tried that yet.   If it worked, it would be very much like Panera's soufflés. I suppose you could also make these into individual servings pretty easily by pouring into cupcake or tart tins.

Enjoy!

According to Taste of Home, this was originally published as Black Hills Golden Egg Bake in Country Extra March 1999, p51