Thursday, December 18, 2008

Pigs In A Blanket

For those of you who were part of the "newlywed" crowd in the early 00's, here's a recipe just for you. I think I made this any time anybody hosted anything that required potluck. One particular party held at my house holds the memory of Nicole eating about 10 of these things!

Pigs In A Blanket

1 pack (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
2/3 cup warm milk
1/3 cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons shortening, melted
1 teaspoon salt
3 2/3 cup all purpose flour
hot dogs

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in the milk/water; let stand for 5 minutes. Add egg, shortening, salt, remaining sugar, shortening, and enough flour to to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, divide into 10 portions. Roll each portion into a 5 in.x 2 1/2 in. rectangle and wrap hotdog around; pinch seams ends to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheet; let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.

Those are the official directions. Here's what I do:
Put all ingredients (I don't heat up the milk, I just make the water as hot as the faucet will allow, I don't melt shortening...I use vege. oil instead, I add all the recommended flour) into the bread machine you got for your wedding and never use.
Put on DOUGH cycle and sit back and relax, taking a moment to congratulate yourself on registering for the bread machine.
When it's done, get out the hot dogs (I might do one pack, I might do two, you can really stretch this recipe and make WAY more then 10) and decide if you want full blown dogs or mini dogs. If mini, cut the hot dogs in half or thirds or whatever you desire. Hey, maybe you want to use lil' smokies...knock yourself out.
Form a small amount of dough in your hand into a rectangle that looks about the right size to cover the dog. (Generally, if full sized dog, a little bit bigger then your hand) BTW, if you want to enclose the dog, go ahead. If not, leave the ends open, like in the picture. Cover, mush the sides closed, place in glass greased baking dish. I don't know why, but mine turn out better if baked on glass, not a cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 like the official directions say, then cool and enjoy.
Sometimes I'd use butter spray and spray a little on the top of the dogs. Sometimes I'd make a few dogs and use the rest of the dough to make rolls, a small loaf of bread, cinnamon sticks or rolls, whatever. I just love this dough recipe.

1 Words to brighten my day:

Anonymous said...

I add cheese:

Cut a 1/4 inch deep lehgth-wise slit in each hot dog. Cut cheese slices into 5 strips; place 1 strip in the slit of each hot dog.