Pigs in Sleeping Bags

Are we ready for some Football?!!!

I may not get excited over the Superbowl, but the party menu for this week is a Home Run! - No wait, that's baseball.  I'm not a football fan.  

A homemade sausage mix takes the place of cocktail franks. Pigs in Sleeping Blankets
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1/4 cup minced shallot or onion 2 large garlic cloves, minced 3 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs 3 Tbsp. milk 3/4 cup drained sauerkraut 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 3/4 tsp. caraway seeds (I used fennel seeds), toasted, lightly crushed Salt and Freshly ground black pepper 8 oz. ground pork 1 sleeve frozen Puff Pastry dough All-purpose flour, for dusting 1 large egg, beaten
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallot or onion and cook until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Let cool. Combine panko and milk in a small bowl.  Let stand until milk is absorbed. Squeeze any liquid from sauerkraut and coarsely chop. Place in a medium bowl.  Add 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard and caraway seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Add pork, onion, garlic and panko/milk mixture.   Mix until just combined.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 14 x 10" rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 14 x 3-1/3" strips (doesn't have to be perfect). Transfer sheets to baking sheet. Using one-third of sausage filling and leaving a 1" border at each end, pat sausage to form a thin log of filling down the center of each strip.

Lightly brush edges with egg and fold pastry over sausage mixture to enclose. Press pastry together to seal.  Fold seam under to ensure that sausage is tightly wrapped.

Cut small diagonal slits at 1" intervals along top of pastries.

Brush top and sides with beaten egg; chill in freezer 30 minutes. Do Ahead: Pastries can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then foil and keep frozen.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake pastries (if frozen, no need to thaw) until puffed and light brown. About 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F.  Continue baking until sausage is cooked through and pastry is golden and puffed, about 20 minutes.

Cut sausage rolls into 1" pieces. Serve with Dijon mustard for dipping. ~Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit