Pat Kennedy on Pigs in a Blanket and Our Other Mothers

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm so happy to welcome another friend back to Jungle Red Writers. This time it's Pat Kennedy with a lovely essay about extra mothers and how they might show love. You will thank her forever for the recipe she's agreed to share!

PAT KENNEDY: I am a mother and grandmother many times over so have done plenty of mothering in my time. I was also fortunate to have an ample-bosomed mother whose soft hugs were so awesome. And an inspiring mother-in-law who encouraged me to read Dostoevsky and true crime books. As Mother’s Day approaches, however, I have been thinking about another woman who showed me “how” when I was a newbie through her simple but profound generosity.

Pat with 11 of 16 granchildren

 She taught me how to make wonderful pigs-in-a-blanket – among other things. This is a recipe (and lesson) that stuck.

Very young and pregnant when I moved to Omaha, Nebraska, I knew no one and felt so adrift with a baby arriving in eight weeks. My Iowa mother-in-law suggest that I call Lucy Phipps, her high school friend. Lou was married to an old-fashioned newspaperman who wrote for the Omaha World Herald back when a newspaper was a newspaper. I wanted so to be just like him – a big city journalist. (I was a very young and naïve thinking Omaha as the big leagues.) But it was Lou who had the lasting impact on me.  She was a very Midwestern homey cook and taught me the sweet art of caring for others through shared cooking. I realize now that she understood that I was lonely and scared, so she invited me into her kitchen. 

“Let’s make something really tasty.”  

We made pigs-in-a-blanket, of course. They were so delicious and so was our conversation about “new babies are hard, but you’ll learn quickly,” “Would it be OK if I come visit after the baby comes home?” “You can call me anytime.” I still get choked up remembering my relief that I now had a friend.

I have Lou’s handwritten recipe for The Pigs which she copied from HER grandmother’s handwritten page.  I often cook with one or several of my grandchildren now and remember her advice. “It’s best,” Lou counseled, “to make something tasty and homey and not too complicated. Something that allows a conversation while you mix things up. Folks and children find it easier to ease their hearts when their hands are covered with flour.”  

You’ll have to try this recipe and her advice the next time you have a child or friend who needs comfort or support.  It’s a very tasty way to do it.  

PIGS IN A BLANKET

Ingredients for the dough

3/4 cup butter 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

2 packages dry yeast

2 eggs

1 cup lukewarm water

6 cups all-purpose flour

The Pigs

1 package of Hillshire Farms Lit’l Smokies (you can use other small sausages but they aren’t nearly as tasty)

Small chunks of cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

In large bowl blend softened butter, sugar and salt; then add boiling water; cool.

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water; add to above and mix in.

Mix eggs with a fork or spoon; add to above mixture.

Blend flour in gradually --½ cup flour at a time beating well. (A large standing mixer makes this easier) Cover dough bowl with plastic wrap; place in refrigerator for 4 hours at least before using. You can leave it in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Punch the dough down and then take portions out to use as desired.

When the dough is ready, flour your hands then take a small pinch of dough and roll it out into a worm like shape and then roll it around one Lit’l Smokie with or without a chunk of cheese inserted into a split on the sausage. Place shaped rolls on a lightly greased (Pam sprayed) baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel. Let rise 4 hours (on counter). 

Bake 10-12 minutes in 375-degree oven. Check to see if the bottoms are browned too.

Serve when just slightly cooled. They go fast!

 Reds, can you think of an old recipe from a friend or relative that brings back sweet memories?