Creole Sausage Roll-Ups

Washington, DC is a cocktail-party town. When I was at Kith/Kin I saw firsthand how much public policy is decided over hors d’oeuvres. Everyone’s favorite—on the left, on the right, young, old—is pigs in a blanket, the little cocktail hot dogs wrapped in pastry. The flakiness of the crust, the juicy crunch of the hot dog within, it’s what unites us.Now when I host parties, I channel the joy of those cocktail weenies with the rich, spicy, smoky flavors of andouille sausage—more flavor than regular hot dogs!—wrapped in puff pastry. Instead of yellow mustard or ketchup, I serve them with an athletically spiced homemade honey mustard. I like to save any excess puff pastry and make my own version of a Hot Pocket. (Or if you have another package of sausages, make a few more roll-ups.) When I'm entertaining I like to keep snacks simple, like these roll-ups and some sort of chips with dip. And of course, we cannot forget about cocktails: A tequila neat is my go-to.Recipe adapted from All Hours, by Kwame Onwuachi and Joshua David Stein. Copyright 2026. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.More great party food here: Chicago-Style Pigs in a Blanket; Pork Adobo Pull-Apart Sliders; and Warm 7-Layer Skillet Dip.