Recently Dave and I explored more of the Olympic Peninsula where we live here in Washington State. We stayed in one of the historic hotels called the Lake Quinault Lodge. The lodge was built in the early 1900s. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Roosevelt restaurant there which included baked salmon with crispy skin, roasted multicolored small potatoes and sautéed broccoli.
My recipes for August are simple and fun for children’s lunches as well as for adult cocktail parties. The first is Pigs in a Blanket. The second is a special dipping sauce called Secret Burger Sauce. Pigs in a blanket are equally popular in England where they are served as part of the Christmas dinner. In England it consists of a small sausage wrapped in bacon and then roasted until golden brown. But I wonder how the American version came about. In 1931, the Pillsbury cans were invented for holding dough under pressure so it would stay fresh. These cans are used in preparation to bake biscuits or cinnamon rolls. Then in 1949 there was the first “Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest” in which the classic crescent rolls were invented. It wasn’t long after that we saw a recipe where you place a hot dog on a triangular piece of crescent pastry dough with some cheese and then roll it up. After baking in the oven, you have a tasty and fun treat.
The history of the crescent roll is interesting because it is a simple spin off from the more elaborate and buttery French croissant. The origin of the croissant is from 13th century Austria where this pastry was called the Kipferl which is Austrian for crescent. Later an Austrian artillery officer named August Zang founded a Viennese bakery in Paris. The pastry then became the French version of the crescent which, in their language, is the famous croissant.
From my table to yours,
Your Galley Guide
