Pigs in a blanket
Pigs in a blanket seem like a long-standing tradition for us for game day. Along with stuffed chicken wings, easy sausage rolls, fried cheese balls etc., these are the perfect starter recipes for parties or any kind of gathering. While my husband has always been a big fan of sports, I’m usually there not for the game, but mostly for the snack and drinks. Now that’s my sport, the one where I excel at! I love any kind of snack where the meat is wrapped with some kind of dough, but I usually prefer sausage rolls (like these apple and fennel pork sausage rolls, or these easy sausage rolls with just 3 ingredients!) over pigs in a blanket because they typically have a lot more flavor. And I LOVE puff pastry. Those little piggies are always so bland and the blanket is there to merely cover their shame.
Why you’ll love this pigs in a blanket recipe
But not with this pigs in a blanket recipe that I’m sharing here! I made these Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket with a Cheese Dip, just so I can pack them with a ton of flavor! These sausages are fried in a sweet and spicy sauce, and then wrapped in crescent roll dough (you could even use puff pastry). The sausages are so flavorful, you’ll probably end up eating a lot of them just like that. 🙂 BUT WAIT! There’s more!
Cheese dip
I paired these sweet and spicy pigs in a blanket with a delicious Habanero Spicy Cheese Dip! It’s a creamy, spicy, tangy nacho cheese sauce spiced with mustard and cayenne pepper for an extra kick. I made the habanero cheese sauce with habanero cheddar cheese, but you can make it with regular cheddar cheese/monterey jack and add some chopped habanero to it instead. Sometimes I add roasted hatch chile, especially in late summer when they are season. And feel free to leave out the cayenne pepper if you’d like to keep it less spicy. My husband and I have a very high threshold for hot and spicy so we always dial it down when we suggest recipes for others. 🙂 The spicy brown mustard is great though because it gives the cheese dip a lovely spicy tang. You can also use Dijon mustard or yellow mustard instead if you prefer. I also made these mini/bite-sized, so they are perfect for snacking (and no double-dipping in the spicy cheese dip required either). You can use puff pastry instead (store-bought or using my easy rough puff pastry recipe), if you like a more soft, buttery, flaky pastry for the blanket.
More flavor-packed game day recipes
Crispy cheese jalapeno bacon bites (fried cheese balls) Cocktail meatballs Easy sausage rolls Pork sausage rolls Mini French onion pies Curried beef roti Cheesy Mexican meatball skillet Nashville hot chicken sandwich (spicy chicken sandwich) Classic fried chicken sandwiches Mini cheesy chicken pies Sri Lankan fish empanadas Stuffed chicken wings
