puff pastry for the groundlings: my obsession grows

I have a serious new-found affinity for puff pastry. Since my adventures in making blueberry peach tartlets with puff pastry, I have purchased two more packages of the stuff and proceeded to make ham and cheese turnovers for breakfast, which were divine. Each time I make something with it, it feels like cheating. The end product seems fancy, tastes and smells delicious, and gives the impression that a lot of work went into it, when in reality, its one of the simplest things made in my kitchen all week!

Then I discovered a new use for puff pastry, which isn't fancy at all, but certainly tasy and easy to make: hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry (or if you still want to sound just a little bit fancy: pigs in a blanket). I am convinced that these are the absolute best thing to make with a toddler, since it is straightforward and they will gobble it all up. These would also be the perfect item to serve at a child's birthday party. Easy to pick up and no mess!














image from vegetariansrecipes.org

Here's how to make them:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Cut the hot dogs in half (I had 4 left in a package at my house).
   
3. Cut 1 sheet of puff pastry into 8 rectangles (1 horizontal cut, 3 vertical cuts)
4. Roll each hot dog in a strip of puff pastry and place on a lightly greased baking sheet, being sure that the end of the puff pastry strip is facing down to prevent it from unrolling during baking. (great step to let the kids do!)
   
5. Lightly beat 1 egg yolk in a small bowl.
6. Using a pastry brush, dip the brush into the egg and brush onto the tops of each rolled hot dog. (Addison loved this part!)
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Yum yum yum!
Addison ate two of these, saying "mmmmmmm!" with each bite. And Ben and I didn't even mind that we were having hot dogs for dinner when they were dressed up like this and dipped in a little mustard. We'll be doing this one again!