Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve: Homemade Pigs in Blankets & Mini-Knishes

Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve: Homemade Pigs in Blankets & Mini-Knishes

131231 pigs in blankets mini knishes

Got a package of puff pastry in the freezer? How about some hot dogs and/or potatoes? Your New Year’s Eve is made, my friend.

Last year was the first time we let Harry stay up until real-deal midnight. Before then we’d always fudged things by a couple hours (doing so this year? check out Netflix’s new offering, an on-demand, faux countdown featuring King Julien the lemur). But Harry’s gotten too old to be fooled by such chicanery, plus he takes after his night-owl father so staying up isn’t exactly hard for him. Stephen and I decided to go all-out and turn the evening into a mini-party. Instead of dinner, we had hors d’oeuvres galore:

I’ll be honest: The mini-knishes thrilled me more than they did Harry, but he ate a blazillion pigs in blankets, then dunked banana chunks and berries into a quick chocolate ganache “fondue.” Add some sparkling apple cider, and he wasn’t exactly unhappy. The whole shebang worked so well, we’re doing exactly the same thing this year.

131231 quick chocolate fondue

One of these days, maybe we’ll even invite some people over.

Anyway, on to the super-easy recipes. You can make one batch of each from a single package of thawed puff pastry, and one batch of egg wash should cover all. If you’re making both, start with the knishes since they’re a little more involved.

Happy New Year!

131231 happy new year 2014

Quick Mini-Potato Knishes
Makes about 30

1 large potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
Flour, for dusting
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Sesame or poppy seeds, optional
Spicy brown mustard, for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

  1. In a medium saucepan, simmer potato in salted water until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and pat dry, then transfer to a mixing bowl.
  2. While potato simmers, heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When it shimmers add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
  3. Mash the potato and onion together—a few lumps are fine. If it seems too dry, drizzle in a little olive oil. Add salt & pepper to taste, and allow to cool.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry just a bit—you don’t need to make it too thin. Use a pizza or pastry cutter to cut lengthwise into three pieces, then cut each piece crosswise into 10 strips.
  5. Place about a teaspoon of filling on one half of each strip, then fold them over and press to seal. Transfer to the baking sheet. Brush each knish with egg wash and sprinkle with seeds, if using.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Quick Pigs in Blankets
Makes about 3 dozen

Flour, for dusting
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
One 12- or 13-ounce package cocktail franks, or 7-8 hot dogs, cut into chunks
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Mustard, honey mustard, or ketchup, for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry just a bit—you don’t need to make it too thin. Use a pizza or pastry cutter to cut lengthwise into three pieces, then cut each piece crosswise into 12 strips.
  2. Roll each hot dog in one piece of dough, and press to seal. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. When all have been rolled, brush lightly with egg wash.
  3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.