By The apartment complex is DONE. Sixty units. Seven months. Every circuit tested, every panel labeled, every light working. The final inspection: passed. Zero deficiencies. The inspector — a guy named Dave who has inspected my work for five years — looked at the panels and said, "Tommy, this is the cleanest commercial work I've seen this year." I said, "Thank you." He said, "You should be doing more of this." I said, "I plan to." And I do. Beaumont Electrical is ready for more. Bigger jobs. More clients. The net is out. The water is wide.
To celebrate, I took the whole crew — all seven of them — to a crawfish boil at my house. Two hundred pounds. TWO HUNDRED. Marcus, Terri, DeShawn, the two apprentices, plus their families. Thirty people in my driveway, eating crawfish from my pit area, and the sound of it — the laughter, the cracking shells, the "more cayenne!" from Rémy who appointed himself seasoning chief even though there were seven professional adults present — the sound of it was the sound of a thing I built. Not the pit. Not the business. The thing between the people. The gathering. The feeding. That's what I built. That's what Joey built on every fishing trip and every family dinner and every Sunday at the cottage. The food is the excuse. The gathering is the point.
The crawfish were the main event, but if you’re feeding thirty people and you want something ready the second guests hit the driveway — something nobody has to wait on, something kids and adults both reach for without thinking — you put out Party Franks. I’ve made these at every big crew gathering for years, and they disappear faster than the seasoning Rémy keeps shaking onto everything. After a job like this one, a finish like this one, the food doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be good, plentiful, and there.
Party Franks
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cocktail sausages (little smokies)
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup grape jelly
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
Instructions
- Make the sauce. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the barbecue sauce, grape jelly, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper if using. Stir until the jelly melts and the sauce is smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Add the franks. Add the cocktail sausages to the saucepan and stir to coat evenly with the sauce.
- Simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the franks are heated through and glazed.
- Serve. Transfer to a serving dish or slow cooker set to warm. Provide toothpicks for easy serving. Keep warm throughout the party — they go fast.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 540mg