Just one page of my neurotic planning.
I’ve completely failed to even attempt to make a cheese soufflé. Learning to make a soufflé has been on my mind since Thanksgiving and it just isn’t going to happen. Not now anyway. I’ve decided to put it off until spring. Because now is the time for heartier things. There is a reason that nordic climates live on fat and starch. Just stepping outside burns twice as many calories as normal. Will and I have also been sick in and all I can think about is comfort foods. Meat in bread and all its variations is heavenly. December 2011 I hosted a dinner just to celebrate that.
I spent an absurd amount of time brainstorming and planning.
The feature would be a giant pig in a blanket. Instead of little wieners wrapped in puff pastry, I would make something worth presenting.
To make the “pig” I started by weaving a bacon mat.
9 x 9 slices of woven bacon
Then I layered on top of the bacon.
Breakfast sausage, apple shallot mushroom sauté, and brie cheese on top of bacon mat.
Rolled it up into a pig log and stuck it in the oven. I’d pull it out every 10 min or so and glaze it for a nice candied bacon effect.
Glazed “Pig”
That night I made a rosemary bread dough to rise overnight. The next morning my ceramic artist friend Summer sculpted the dough around the meat. When it was all said and done our pig in a blanket looked just like a bread pig with piglet rolls at her side.
To round out the meal I made two other items. Pig muffins are breakfast sausage in an apple spice muffin topped with a candied bacon flag.
Perhaps I’ll do a separate recipe post for this one.
For a vegetarian option I made ratatouille in puff pastry.
Friends also made salads. Avocado quinoa, citrus basil, kale and carrot.
The best part of dinner parties are the friends.
12 of us shoulder to shoulder
Midwest With Zest 
Bravo!
You did a fantastic job. The pic of the woven bacon is mouthwatering. You said your sculptor friend wrapped the dough around. To be clear, the meat portion was not totally encapsulated by the dough? And did you let it rise after sculpting before placing it in the oven to bake?
Thank you! My friend might remember better than I do. The meat had been entirely precooked the night before so I think we entirely encapsulated it so it wouldn’t dry out with further cooking. I also think we did allow it to rise again after sculpting, probably for about an hour. I remember it feeling like quite the gamble, not being totally sure at any step if it would really work out.
What a memorable night that was! You are so filled with such creative ideas. The great thing about your pig in a blanket was that, not only was it conceptual, but it was also incredibly delicious; soft and juicy. It sure hit the spot that winter. I can’t believe this was two years ago. Thanks for sharing the photos and story via your blog. Cheers!
It was a wonderful night. I miss hosting dinners like this. Sometimes I think I’m not a very creative person, not nearly as much as you are. I think food is the only area I feel like something of an artist.