Whenever I am catering a party and the husband wants good old "pigs in blankets" and the wife wants something more sophisticated, I recommend lamb sausage in puff pastry. It looks the same but tastes so much better. You can use any kind of thin fresh sausage for this recipe. I like to serve it with extra mustard.

1 pound fresh lamb sausage,
1/2 inch thick, in a coil
2 sheets commercial puff pastry, thawed (see note)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten with
1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bake the sausage on a baking sheet for 20 minutes. Turn the sausage and bake it 5 to 10 minutes more, until it's fully cooked. Cool to room temperature.

Unfold the puff pastry on a lightly floured board. Cut each piece in half lengthwise and brush the top sides with mustard. Divide the sausage into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the long end of the pastry, place 1 piece of the sausage on top of the mustard and roll it up tightly, overlapping the end by 1/2 inch and sealing the pastry by brushing the edge with water. Cut off the excess pastry. Roll the other 3 pieces of sausage in puff pastry. Place the 4 rolls, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with the egg wash. Lightly score each roll diagonally to make 7 equal pieces. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned. Slice and serve immediately.

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Excerpted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten; Foreword by Martha Stewart Copyright© 1999 by Ina Garten. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.