Blue Cows in a Blanket

When my husband and I got married, we decided to have an all hors d’oeuvres cocktail reception. When we shared this idea with my parents, my dad made a joke about the quantity of pigs in a blanket that the caterers would be dealing with. Though we were thinking more along the lines of Smoked Duck on Pecan Crackers with Red Currant Chutney, Saga Bleu Polenta Rounds with Beef Tenderloin, and Seared Sea Scallops on a Salpicon of Lump Crabmeat and Sweet Yellow Corn with Poblano Pepper Aioli, the idea of a Pigs in a Blanket themed reception made us giggle. We even arranged for the caterer to present my father with his very own tray of pigs in a blanket just prior to the ceremony. I think the bill from the caterer listed them as ‘Cocktail Franks en Croute’. Fancy! Whatever you call them, the tray was empty in a blink.

Blue Cows in a Blanket is my beefy little twist on Pigs in a Blanket. It’s basically a bacon blue cheese burger, wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden brown. I came up with the idea awhile back, while trying to devise a way to fit bacon blue cheese burgers into a cocktail party menu. You can make the burgers larger or smaller, depending on your needs. And, the best part is that they can be almost fully prepared ahead of time.  Just wrap the cooked burgers in the pastry and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake and serve!

Blue Cows in a Blanket work well as an hors d’ oeuvre or as a main course alternative to a traditional burger. Tonight, we enjoyed them as a main course with a Wedge Salad on the side, playing off the blue cheese and bacon in the burger.

Blue Cows in a Blanket

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1/2 cup Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup Bleu Cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 package (2 sheets) Puff Pastry, thawed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently combine ground beef, bacon, cheese, and salt with hands, just enough to evenly distribute the bacon, cheese, and salt. Form the mixture into about 18 small meatball-sized balls.  Gently flatten into small patties. Place on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Keep the oven at 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the thawed puff pastry sheets into squares that measure approximately 12 x 12 inches. Use a pizza cutter to cut each sheet into 9 equal-sized squares. You should have 18 squares that measure approximately 4 x 4 inch each. (Don’t worry if they aren’t exactly square or equal-sized. The dough will stretch when you wrap the burgers.)

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place one cooled patty in the center of each square. Wrap the pastry around the patty and press the dough together on the bottom. Place each wrapped patty on the baking sheet, seam side down. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush each pastry with the beaten egg. Return to oven and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

For the Wedge Salad: Cut a head of iceberg lettuce into 4-6 wedges. Top with chopped tomatoes and crumbled bacon.  Drizzle with blue cheese dressing.