Guilty Pleasure #4732

Darling invisible friend, please forgive my absence. I was "on vacation." I use the dreaded quote marks because this, like every other vacation this year, was NOT good. It was the time I'd set aside to see Montreal and the Canadiens, playing in the Bell Centre, with VNP.

We know how that ended.

So I didn't cancel the vacation, wasted the time off that I'd accrued, and lumped around the house for a week. Slept late. Did a lot of laundry. Made the dogs very happy with my presence. Not that they're picky; they'd be happy with anyone who has a pulse. As long as there are cookies involved, and the occasional belly-rub, they're good to go.

I will talk at length with you about other things that happened toward the end of the week, but for now, let's talk about a minor baking activity I had on vacation: sausage rolls.
So yummy. Flaky pastry, filled with rich and spicy sausage. Popular in the British Isles and Australia, and probably many other places I wish to visit too, the sausage roll is a delightful guilty pleasure. It may sound like a pig-in-a-blanket, but it's a little different.

The sausage is of the loose variety, rather than linked. The pastry is usually of the puff variety. I made some this week for a friend and cheated horribly, using the Crescent Roll dough and Jimmy Dean hot sausage. No one seemed to mind.

What? Oh. Well, she had a memorial service to attend and asked me to make them. What is it about funerals that makes us want to eat? Anyway, she came over and was determined to help. It was adorable, watching her carefully brush each roll with egg wash. The rolls turned out glossy and golden brown and gorgeous, and I give her credit for that.

Sausage rolls. My dear friend Cherry, who is from South Africa, nearly crawled through the phone when I told her I'd made some. I foresee making some for Cherry during my next visit, I can tell you that. They're naughty and buttery and zippy and divine.

Ooo! And they're versatile. You don't have to make them with pork sausage. You can make them with beef sausage or turkey or chicken or even, for your vegan friends, with soy sausage and nondairy pastry.

I know, I know. But it makes them happy. Don't judge. And remember, the more vegan friends you have, the more steak is left for you.

Sausage rolls. Sigh.

Yum.