It was exactly one year ago today that I started this blog, and I haven't posted since. Is that sad, or what ? Well, I'm back into it, and I've decided to post some favorite recipes here in addition to quilts.
As I was making Pig Peters for a Super Bowl party yesterday, I took lots of photos so I can give step-by-step directions, a la the
Pioneer Woman. This recipe came from my friend Vicki, and I think of her every time I make these. I always make a double batch, so the sauce ingredients will cover two batches. Here goes:
1 1-lb pckg Lit'l Smokies mini sausages (I use the turkey ones for a healthier version)
1 1-lb pckg bacon (look for one with lots of meat and not much fat)
1 20-oz can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
1 box round toothpicks
The sauce (enough for a double batch):
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbl dry mustard
Open the Lit'l Smokies and put them in a bowl.
Open the can of pineapple, drain, reserving the juice for the sauce, and place in a bowl.
Sorry for the margarine tubs, but they're so useful. Reminds me of the Jeff Foxworthy joke:
"You might be a redneck if . . . your salad bowls are four matching CoolWhip containers!"
Using a sharp knife, cut the bacon into thirds.
Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. You'll be glad you did. This gets messy.
Assemble the ingredients like so: bacon on the cutting board, a bowl of sausages, a cup of toothpicks and a bowl of pineapple at the ready. Keep the foil-lined sheet close by.
To assemble: wrap a piece of bacon around a sausage.
Skewer a pineapple chunk with a toothpick, then into the sausage.
Place on cookie sheet, laying it on its side, leaving room between pig peters so they can be flipped.
Now, to make the sauce. I've never actually measured these ingredients, I just dump them in, so these are best guestimates. Trust me, you don't need an exact ratio - they'll be delicious.
Into a medium bowl, dump about a cup and a half of brown sugar.
Squeeze about a half cup of ketchup into the bowl.
Add 2 Tbl of dried mustard.
Add just a bit, maybe 2 - 3 Tbl of the reserved pineapple juice.
You want this on the thick side, so it sticks to the top and doesn't just run off.
Using a basting brush, dab a little sauce on each pig peter. Just dab. Don't try to brush it on, or they'll move all over. This is my shiny new black basting brush. The old plastic orange one that I won as a prize at a Tupperware party over 30 years ago and was twisted from getting melted in the dishwasher finally gave up the ghost.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 20 minutes. It helps to use a fork to flip them, because the hot sugar will burn your fingers! The ones on the edge start getting done first, so I swap spots with a middle one as I'm turning them.
Done! They're not burned, don't worry! They may look a little charred, but they're perfect. Be sure to remove them IMMEDIATELY from the cookie sheet. If that sauce starts to cool and harden, you'll never get them off.
To serve, I stand them up in an electric frypan. Easy to transport to a party, and I just put it on warm so they stay hot. Enjoy !
Here's a shorter version that you can copy and print.
Pig Peters
The peters:
1 1-lb pckg Lit'l Smokies mini-sausages
1 1-lb pckg bacon
1 20-oz can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1 pckg round toothpicks
The sauce:
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbl dry mustard
2 Tbl reserved pineapple juice
Line cookie sheet with foil. Cut bacon into thirds.
Wrap bacon around sausage. Skewer pinepple and then into sausage.
Place on its side on lined cookie sheet, leaving space between each row so they can be flipped.
Mix sauce ingredients together. Baste onto pig peters.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
Flip over and bake 20 minutes more.
Remove from cookie sheet immediately.
One batch makes 40 Pig Peters.
