The Pillsbury Crescent Adventure

I had wanted to try these easy bake crescent rolls for months. I love crescent rolls. Here at home we can buy them pre-packaged in cling-wrapped batches of 20 or have serving ladies pluck them from their displays on the bakery shelves and hand them to you – for a price, of course! From hors d'oeuvre size to those as big as your hand, they’re eaten plain or baked with cheese and ham or created into sandwiches packed with turkey, tuna or chicken salad (with the obligatory lettuce and tomato).

Obviously, I do have recipes for crescent rolls, but they are time consuming. However, on my recent trip to the grocery I decided to jump in with both feet and purchase these. (By the way, don’t you just love the commercials featuring the little Pillsbury Doughboy? I just love that sound he makes when you rub his belly… “hoo-hoo”… but I digress.)

Now you know me; before I even attempt to use things like this, I read the instructions, then re-read… and re-re-read. Then I do as the packet or box says and realise that the instructions don’t always correspond to what I call “Trini Conditions,” which are how our climate and cookware behave with many foreign products.  With that said, there are a few main things you should know about we Trinidadians and Tobagonians when it comes to food…

1) Our chicken must be browned…

2) We don’t like our meat “rare”...

3) Seasoning isn’t just salt and black pepper…

4) Baked pastries must not be pale when they come out the oven.

So, with number four echoing in my head, I wondered how my Pillsbury adventure would play out in my tiny kitchen…

I extracted the cylinder of Pillsbury crescent roll dough from the fridge…

Had a hard time busting it open because the pull tab just tore off instead of sliding down the side. Ended up stabbing it with my knife, only to have dough pour out like toothpaste, hahaa! One good whack on the counter cured that, though.

Unrolling these things are not easy, so don’t laugh at the display here. :-)

So, after preparing my hot dog sausages and (extra) cheese, I put them on the bottom edge of the pastry, then rolled them up, one by one.

Transferred them to an ungreased sheet pan.

For the Halcie touch, I sprinkled on some Italian seasoning. Nice!

Baked them up for about 15 minutes or so… didn’t take them out until I was happy with the colour and saw that they were nice and flaky. (Notice how the cheese seeped out and caked up on the pan... of course, I ate those!)

Selected a couple for me and a couple for my boy. My daughter tried a couple as well, but without the sausage, lol!

The rest went to the fridge for another day.

Sampled. One word… DELICIOUS!! Recipe? Sure.

Hal’s Sausage Crescents

1 package Pillsbury Crescents (yields 8)

4 hot dog sausages, cut into halves to make 8 pieces

4 three inch slices of cheese, cut into two (extra cheese was in mine as you saw)

Italian Seasoning for sprinkling.

Method

1. Open, unroll and separate the crescents.
2. One by one, place a sausage half and a piece of cheese at the bottom end of the crescent and roll it up like a little package. (You can seal the edges if you like by pinching them together.)
3. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes (or slightly longer) until puffed, golden brown and flaky to the touch.
4. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then enjoy!

I realise that I deviated from the standard baking time (as is the norm with me). The package directions say 11 minutes, which is not nearly enough time, since they were still a bit uncooked and pale. Go to about 15 to 18 minutes tops and you’ll be rewarded for your trouble. Eating them was a pleasure. So soft and pillowy… going to repeat the recipe with different fillings in future, that’s a promise.

Off to rest the brain and later, work on my cookbook. Thinning it out, actually… but not to worry. It’s all about marketing, packaging, etc. If it helps, I’ve already chosen my cover pic, which features the ingredients for popular side dish, which will be in an upcoming blog post, so stay tuned! I know you are all anxious for the completed product – as am I – and I do not want to disappoint. As my Granny always said, “Good things come to those who wait!”

Till next posting, be safe, take care, and doh forget to mind de pot! Ah gorn! :-)