Sunday Paper Recommends—Week of October 1, 2023

At The Sunday Paper, we often discover books, podcasts, films, and other works that move the needle and spark inspiring change. We hope these suggestions—plus this new recipe—open your heart and mind and encourage you to come together for meaningful conversations.

What We're Watching

We can't look away from Wilderness, a new Amazon Prime series that proves things sometimes differ from what they seem. A glamorous couple that appears to have it all gets rocked by the truth. What happens next is wildly unexpected.

And do you recognize the man in the superhero suit? We're excited to say Gen V, the new series starring Sunday Paper family member and MOSH co-founder Patrick Schwarzenegger, has received rave reviews.

What We're Listening to

NSYNC, one of the most iconic bands, is back, bringing the world a hit. "Better Place" is the band's first song in 20 years. Chris, JC, Lance, Joey, and Justin are singing it out in this poppy song off the upcoming Trolls Band Together soundtrack. Pure fun!

What We're Reading

Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman is out with this beautiful new poetry book, Something, Someday. Illustrated by Christian Robinson, these pages will soothe, edify, inspire, and enlighten.

What We're Making

An earlier version of this recipe is easily the most popular one on my site, with thousands of people posting it on their social media, sharing it with friends, and telling me how much they and their families loved it. I get the appeal—it’s a total feel-good, nostalgic dish that I’ve given an updated makeover with a garlic-parsley butter, as well as a pretty presentation with them all nestled in a double-decker ring. It’s the perfect dish to put together for football game days or any other big grill-out occasion when you find yourself with more hot dogs than you know what to do with. Kids and adults alike love this dish and I hope you will too.

Recipe by Tiffani Thiessen

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
1 (8-ounce) package crescent rolls
5 hot dogs, each cut into 4 even pieces
Any Dress-It-Up Dressing (pages 168–69), store-bought dressing, ketchup, or mustard, for serving (optional)
1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 (8-ounce) packages crescent rolls
5 hot dogs, each cut into 4 even pieces
Any Dress-It-Up Dressing (pages 168–69), store-bought dressing, ketchup, or mustard, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375oF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the garlic, parsley, and salt and cook for 1 minute while gently swirling the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

3. Spread out one tube of the crescent rolls on a lightly floured work surface. Separate the dough on the perforated lines to form 4 squares. Stack the squares on top of one another and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Lightly flour your rolling pin if it starts sticking to the dough.

4. Trim the edges of the rectangle so the lines are as straight and even as possible. Working along the 10-inch side of the rectangle, slice the dough into 5 (2-inch-wide) strips. (A ruler comes in handy here.) Then, cut those strips into 4 (3-inch) pieces. You should now have 20 squares of dough.

5. Add a piece of hot dog to each square so that the flat edge of the hot dog lines up in the top corner of a piece of dough. Roll the hot dog so it is covered in dough and use a little bit of water to form a seal. Pinch the bottom excess dough up against the hot dog to seal that side. You should have a little bundle of dough at one end and the hot dog peeking out the other side. Set the pig in the blanket on the prepared baking sheet, seal side down, and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and hot dogs.

6. Arrange 12 of the pigs in a blanket in a ring, with the hot dog side facing out. Shingle the remaining 8 hot dogs in the center of the ring, so that they rest on the back edge of the pigs in a blanket on the bottom ring. (The final shape should look like a flower.) Brush all of the dough with the prepared garlic butter and bake for about 40 minutes. The dough should be golden brown and cooked through. Serve immediately with any desired dipping options.

Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers is available NOW everywhere books are sold.