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Paula Deen's Sausage Swirls
Compiled by Vicki McClure Davidson
Sassy Paula Deen, a popular Southern cook on cable TV's Food Network, emphasizes easy-to-make comfort foods. Her success on a cable television cooking show was never planned. Both her parents had died by the time she was 23, and the grief this caused for her prompted a gripping fear of death that developed into chronic agoraphobia, keeping her virtually house-bound for more than a decade.
She was good at Southern-style cooking, so used her talents in the kitchen to help cope with her condition. In 1986, Paula had improved enough from the phobia to accept a job as a bank teller. However, she was robbed at gunpoint the following year, and that frightening experience was traumatic for her. However, it was a blessing in disguise, because she decided to stop being a victim and deal with her agoraphobia head-on.
In 1989, after the family moved to Savannah and she and her husband divorced, she desperately needed to earn an income and had to fight her phobia so that she could support herself and her two little boys, Jamie and Bobby. Paula decided to employ her strong cooking skills and started up a clandestine catering service, The Bag Lady. She made sandwiches and other meals, and her young sons delivered them. Paula was later hired by a Best Western Hotel in Savannah to cook. She worked there five years before opening her own restaurant, The Lady and Sons, in downtown Savannah. Paula was able to overcome her agoraphobia with her constant contact with guests. The restaurant was a success and later moved into a larger building in Savannah’s Historic District.
Paula later successfully published a cookbook, and began her relationship with the Food Network in 1999 when a friend introduced her to executive producer Gordon Elliot. She appeared on the show Doorknock Dinners, where several episodes were filmed in Savannah. Paula also appeared on Ready, Set, Cook! and finally got her own show in 2003, Paula's Home Cooking. An appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show, where she shared her inspirational life story, solidified her name across the country with millions of women viewers. Paula Deen cookbooks
Note of humor: Paula, always bubbly, natural, and outspoken, was the first cooking host ever to have her language censored by the Food Network for a colorful word that she let slip while making hot wings.
Here's Paula's recipe for incredibly easy and inexpensive sausage swirls. Kids, even very young ones, can help make these. And they are DELICIOUS. Perfect for parties (also bridal or baby showers), snacking on in the car on long trips, appetizers while watching a football game, easy-to-grab finger food for picnics, or as an after-school snack for always-hungry teens.
I made these sausage swirls a few months ago for a family get-together potluck at my sister's home. Oh, my — these are FABULOUS.
Shamefully easy and cheap to make and the teen males at the party scarfed my big batch down in record time. Frugal Hubby adored them, too, and said this frugal recipe was MOST definitely "a keeper."
This recipe is from Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style, Simon & Schuster, NY, NY, 2005.
Paula Deen's Sausage Swirls
Two ingredients? We're not kidding! You can't believe how easy and delicious these little numbers are. You can also bake them in advance. Reheat them in a warm oven and they'll taste like you just made them.- Two 8-ounce cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
- 1 pound ground sausage, mild for kids, hot for adults, or sage if you prefer
Separate 1 can of dough and form into 4 rectangles. Firmly press the perforations to seal. Take the uncooked sausage and cut it into 8 chunks. Using 4 chunks of the sausage, spread each of the rectangles with a thin layer (about 1/8 inch thick). Starting at the short end, roll each rectangle tightly into a cylinder. Repeat with the other can of dough and remaining sausage. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes, then cut each roll into 4 slices.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Place the sausage swirls 1/2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and the sausage is thoroughly cooked.
Makes 32 swirls.
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Sources:
About.com: Gourmet Food website, (http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/chefbiographie1/p/pauladeenbio.htm).
Deen, Paula H., Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style, Simon & Schuster, NY, NY, 2005.
Food Network website, "Paula Deen," (www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/dutch-oven-peach-cobbler-recipe/index.html).
Internet Movie Database, "Paula Deen", (www.imdb.com).