holiday egg rolls (cranberry apple sausage)

These. Are. Delicious.

The inspiration for a holiday themed egg roll actually came from this recipe for Cider Brined Turkey with Star Anise and Cinnamon from bonappetit.com, which turned out to be the BEST TURKEY RECIPE I’ve ever made. True story.

To be honest, we weren’t planning a big Thanksgiving dinner this year. Our family doesn’t live close and we’re not big holiday travelers.  (And sometimes I just look forward to having a day off from at least one major responsibility so I can wear sweat pants all day, and maybe not shower.) But then I started chatting with D-Wise, he invited us to dinner at their place, I declined because my kids are like mini-tornados, I invited them to our place instead, and my plans for being unkempt on the day of Thanks flew right out the window.

Ironically, thankfully so.

I love D-Wise, his lady, and his boys, and we don’t see them nearly enough anymore. Yes, I guess they’re worth showering for.

Long story short, I started my hunt for a new idea for roasting the ol’ bird and came across the Asian spiced brine recipe. That inspired me to put together a completely Asian flavor themed menu including these egg rolls, which took the place of my normal side of apple sausage dressing. They will definitely be making a repeat appearance this month at our annual Christmas Eve Appetizer Bonanza.

Did I mention that they’re delicious?

Holiday Eggrolls (Cranberry Apple Sausage Eggrolls)
makes 21 egg rolls
21 egg roll wrappers
16 oz ground pork sausage
1/4 cup white onion (diced)
2 medium granny smith apples (skin on, cored & diced)
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup fresh button mushrooms (diced)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
vegetable or canola oil (for frying)
1/4 cup thai chili sauce (for dipping)

Brown the sausage in a medium sized skillet, remove the sausage from the pan and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate (reserve the drippings.) Add the onions, apples and cranberries to the same skillet,

sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent, the apples have softened and the cranberries burst. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until they’ve softened. Add the cooked sausage, cilantro and salt, stir to combine then remove from heat and set aside.

Lay the egg roll wrappers flat on a sheet pan and place 2 – 3 tablespoons of the sausage mixture just off-center on each wrapper:

Fold the corner closest to you over the sausage filling, roll the two end corners in toward the center and continue rolling (burrito style), then moisten fingers with water and run along the farthest corner edges to seal.

Heat around 1 quart of oil (enough to cover the egg rolls) in a skillet to 375 degrees.  Place the egg rolls in the hot oil and cook for 2 – 3 minutes or until they’re a nice golden brown.

Serve with thai chili sauce for dipping.

I’ll have to admit, I was a little nervous about replacing my favorite turkey side dish with an egg roll, but boy am I glad I stepped out of my Thanksgiving comfort zone.

Four adults and four small children took down 21 egg rolls. And a variety of other Asian themed side-dishes (recipes to come.) And just over one half of a 20 lb turkey.

After this meal I may have been longing for my sweat pants. And may have needed a second shower.

Again, true story. And I seriously can’t believe I just admitted to that.

OMFG. SO GOOD.