Pepper Jelly Hogs In A Blanket -- The Fall Standard, Dressed Up a Little

First frost Tuesday. The garden is mostly done. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 86. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Sausage and apples Saturday. Pan-fried. The fall standard.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called Sunday. Things are good. James sends his regards.

I went to bed at nine. The wood stove still warm. The dog at the foot of the bed.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

Sausage on Saturday is not negotiable in this house — it is as much a part of fall as splitting wood and watching the fog settle into the hollow. This version wraps little sausages in crescent dough and hits them with pepper jelly, which is something Connie would approve of and something Mama would raise an eyebrow at, and that is exactly the right balance. After the week — the long drives, the tired backs, Old Roy’s scare, Earl’s grave — you want something warm and a little sweet coming out of the oven. This is that thing.

Pepper Jelly Hogs In A Blanket

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 8 (about 4 pieces each)

Ingredients

• 1 package (14 oz) little smokies sausages
• 2 cans (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1/2 cup pepper jelly (red or green)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
2. Make the glaze. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together the pepper jelly and Dijon mustard until the jelly melts and the mixture is smooth, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Prep the dough. Unroll the crescent dough and separate into triangles along the perforated lines. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 smaller strips, giving you enough strips to wrap each sausage.
4. Wrap the sausages. Pat the sausages dry with a paper towel. Brush a small amount of the pepper jelly glaze onto each strip of dough. Place a sausage at the wide end of each strip and roll it up snugly. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down.
5. Finish and bake. Brush the tops lightly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with garlic powder and black pepper. Bake 13–15 minutes, until the dough is deep golden brown and the sausages are heated through.
6. Glaze and serve. As soon as they come out of the oven, brush the tops once more with the remaining warm pepper jelly glaze. Serve immediately with extra pepper jelly on the side for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 620mg