So, this year my husband and I are hosting Thanksgiving for our families. The last couple of years my mother in law has been hosting Thanksgiving while I concentrate on finals, but this year was our turn. Well, one of the things that we had been thinking of for an appetizer were pigs-in-a-blanket: something that we hadn't had since childhood (when we used Pillsbury crescent rolls). I wasn't sure if I could do these, so I tried a trial run yesterday for lunch:
First, I bought a package of Hillshire Farms cocktail weiners (after checking online and finding out that Sara Lee is another company that promises to clearly label gluten in their ingredients list - while I much prefer companies that go the extra mile and slap "gluten free" on their label, I won't complain here). Then, I rifled through my recipe box and found a pumpkin pie recipe that I had made a few years' back (the last time I hosted Thanksgiving).
Here's the pie crust recipe, from Libby's: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/143974/Gluten-Free-Pie-Crust-with-LIBBYS-Famous-Pumpkin-Pie-Filling/detail.aspx I hade made this the last time I hosted Thanksgiving, and used the crust for both a pumpkin pie as well as a homemade apple pie for my husband and mother in law. My husband liked the pie, but my mother-in-law informed me that it was not nearly sweet enough for a pie crust and needed a lot more sugar. So, in the recipe box it went, but I remembered how easy it was to roll out the pie crust and figured it might be an easy way to make pigs in a blanket.
It's a pretty easy pie crust recipe:
- CRUST
- 1 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon apple cider or white vinegar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
- The instructions basically have you combine all the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter and mix until it's crumbly. Then add the egg and apple cider vinegar. After that, just sprinkle the water in slowly until you get to the desired consistency - which is to be able to shape the dough into a ball. Now, be careful with the water here - just a smidge too much water and it's much harder to roll. I dusted my rolling pin with cornstarch, and it was very easy to roll out this crust with a rolling pin.
- I rolled out the dough very thin and cut with a knife. I then rolled up the weiners in the dough and placed them on a greased baking sheet. Don't over-do Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes - until the dough starts to get a little golden brown. Mine never got golden brown on top, just on the bottom. Don't over-cook them and make sure to check the bottoms after 15 minutes.
Serve immediately, with spicy mustard - we like French's. :-)
