Black Russian Bread (How to Make Pigs in a Blanket)

See "How to Make Pigs in a Blanket"

The Recipe

• Any bread mix of your choice
• 18 hot dogs (can be halved for smaller pigs) or 36 sausages
• Mustard (or preferred dip or spread)
• Sliced cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Mix the bread dough according to package instructions in a stand mixer with a dough hook for about five minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and stretchy. Or use your bread machine.
2. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick. Let it relax for ten minutes and roll it again if needed. Cut it into circles or rectangles sized to wrap around your hot dogs.
3. Cut a slit in each hot dog lengthwise and put the sliced cheese into the slit.
4. If you want to use a condiment, such as mustard, spread it onto each dough piece, leaving a clean border along the long edges to squeeze the dough together. Place the hot dog in the center.
5. Wrap the dough around the hot dog, pressing the edges together where they overlap, and repeat until each pig has a blanket. Let it rise for about 30-45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough just starts to brown.

A Catalog of Pigs and What to Do with Them

Let your imagination rule. For us, it's hot dogs and brats. For my dad, it was Vienna sausages. I'm not even sure what Vienna sausages are. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, where there is a world of German and Scandinavian towns, there are sausages everywhere. Make what you know and like.

We do half-dogs. That makes them more finger foods and appetizers. We split them and add a stick of cheese. Mustard on dogs work but you can use any sauce or condiment.

In the winter, give me a pig with good, hearty soup from clam chowder to a bean soup. A pig and a soup is perfect this time of year.

In the summer, I'll take pigs on a picnic. For me, potato salad always works well with pigs.

It's hard to go wrong with pigs in a blanket. They work all year with almost anything. Make extras. That's the start of the next meal.

Making Pigs on the Grill

You’re missing some summer fun if you’re not baking on your grill. It’s not hard if you have a cover on your grill (although you can rig a large pan or bucket to place over the food and act as a cover). Some grills have a thermometer. Different grills bake differently. You just have to learn your grill.

The biggest challenge with many grills is the heat more intense closest to the flame. The lid captures the heat to mimic an oven. The heat naturally rises and few grills have a fan to circulate the heat.

If your grill is too hot on the rack closest to the flame, and most are, there are several remedies you can try to see what works best on your grill:

• Turn the heat down low so there is just a flicker of a flame. The lid will still capture the heat enough to bake.
• Take two large baking sheets and stack them together. Then place the bread pan, pizza pan, or other pan on the double sheets. The large baking pans force the heat to travel around the sheets and the double pans provide insulation between the sheets even though the edges are open. If you slip something between the sheets to hold them, say one inch, apart, you will create more insulation.
• Put something under the pizza pan to hold the food further from the heat. A couple of bricks will do.

It sounds like a lot of trouble. It’s not. And it’s worth it. You only have to figure it out once.

Now that you have it figured out, you can bake your pigs just like you do in the kitchen.

A Picnic Potato Salad

This is agreat potato salad with green pease and red new potatoes.

Ingredients

About 2 pounds of new red potatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 stalk celery, bias cut
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil them in salted water. It is not necessary to peel the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and let cool. Add the green onions, celery, frozen peas, and cheese, and toss.
   
2. Mix the mayonnaise and vinegar together. Stir the dressing into the vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate overnight.

Your Questions about Black Russian Bread

• I love the idea of homemade Black Russian, but how much is it going to cost to ship? It costs too much to ship small packages.  But we currently only charge $5 for orders over $69.  Bread mixes are heavy. We think that's the best deal in America.
• How does the cost compare? You get the makings for a bakery-quality loaf delivered to your door, probably for less than the bakery. It's homemade and it's yours. And you get to eat while it's still warm and the butter melts.
• What does it taste like? You can taste the sourdough rye. It is definitely a pumpernickel, a light rye. It is definitely not pungent. It's a light sourdough--the rye is in the background.
  
• Is it a crusty bread? It's crustier than store-bought bread, but it doesn't have a heavy crust like European sourdough.
• What about the crumb? It's soft and moist and, of course, dark.
• What makes Black Russian pumpernickel bread black? It's the dark rye flour. Wheat doesn't grow well in the subarctic. This has some wheat flour but also dark rye flour and dark rye meal.  The Russians are rightfully proud of their bread.
• Is black Russian bread healthier? The Russians believed that their bread made them sturdier, healthier people. It has 30% more iron and 50% more magnesium and potassium.
• Can you toast it? I do. It makes a really fine, crusty toast. I've put jam and jelly on it, but it's perfect with honey.  We carry a star thistle honey, a dark honey that is perfect.
• How does it compare to a big-city deli? It's perfect and authentic. There is a big-city restaurant chain with black bread; this is better.
• So, is this good for sandwiches? It was meant for sandwiches. You can do anything that you can in a deli with this. Reuben sandwiches are perfect on black Russian. 

Dennis Weaver