This is a very mid-century snack as it is a quick meal idea made from prepared or processed food that takes less than 20 minutes. It was a favourite from my childhood. It is as delicious and comforting as a grilled cheese sandwich only more so.
The term ‘pigs in a blanket” means different things in different eras. Some are recipes for pancakes wrapped in bacon. Other recipes use vienna sausages, cocktail weiners or smaller chunks of hotdog. Some recipes suggest keeping the hotdog intact and wrapping the cheese slice, bacon and dough around the whole hotdog. In a 1950’s cookbook “pigs in a blanket” sliced into bite sized pieces are suggested as a classy appetizers for a dinner party. In a 1930s cookbook “pigs in a blanket” is the name of a recipe of an oyster wrapped in a strip of bacon. The recipe below is decidedly more middle class, mid-century in flavour and more kid friendly than oysters!
Ingredients:
1 can (tube) of Pillsbury (or other prepared) crescent rolls
8 hotdogs (or veggie dogs)
8 slices of cheese (processed or cheddar)
8 slices of well cooked bacon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Open the can of crescent roll dough and pull each piece apart. Take each hotdog and cut vertically down the middle. Cut up and place the cheese into the opening in the middle of the hotdog. Place the bacon on top of the cheese stuffed hotdog. Finally, wrap the whole thing in a dough piece, starting with the big end of the dough triangle. You will need to stretch the dough to cover the hotdog end to end. Pinch the dough where it meets at the end of the triangle in order to keep the dough together. Place the pigs in a blanket on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until the dough is golden brown. Enjoy with ketchup and mustard.
