TAHOE-TRUCKEE, Calif. — Can you say "mini pigs in a blanket?" Of course you can! With a smile on your face. Those tiny wieners wrapped in a buttery, flaky dough are a big part of your childhood. Right up there with the Brady Bunch and Tab ("A beautiful drink for beautiful people!").

This New Year's Eve, don't just sing, "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind?" Do something to bring those old friends back into the fold and serve a spread (that's what your mom called it) of blast-from-your-past appetizers with timeless appeal.

These little suckers basically throw out all the rules when it comes to food trends. They are not fresh. They are not organic. They are not low in anything — and that includes taste. They are additively delicious. So good I make them by the dozen ahead of time, freeze them, and do not start baking them until all the guests have arrived. If I did, seriously, they would be gone by 12 noon, not midnight.

That, my friend, explains the photo of the frozen, as opposed to hot and steamy, appetizers. I needed my shot for this column and knew they were not safe on the counter to cool. These little gems would have disappeared before I had time to focus and say, "One, two, three – Happy 2016!"

Mini pigs in a blanket ingredients

Two 8 oz. tubes Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

48 Little Smokies or other mini smoked link hot dog

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll the tubes of rolls and separate into the pre-cut 16 triangles. Now cut each of these triangles lengthwise into three skinny triangles. Place a little wiener on the short side of the triangle, the one opposite the pointed end. Roll up hot dog in dough, towards the point.

Place point side down on ungreased cookies sheet. Finish up with the next 47 wieners. Bake for ten minutes and serve warm with sweet mustard. If you are not cooking right away, place on trays, freeze, then when frozen, remove from trays and put in zip lock bags and return to freezer until ready to bake.

Mini ham and cheese 'sandwich' ingredients:

Two 8 oz. tubes Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

2 slices, thin-sliced, Swiss cheese

4 slices, thin-sliced, ham

2 tbls. sweet mustard

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll the tubes of roll dough and, using a roller, gently roll the dough so it is no longer perforated for pre-cut triangles. Now it is more like a rectangular pizza dough.

Place the rectangle in front of you, short ends at your left and right, like you're looking down at your pillow. On the bottom half of the dough/rectangle, smear your mustard. Top this with the cheese slices and then the ham slices.

Now roll dough, starting with the half with the cheese, ham and mustard — the bottom half — toward the top to make a nice roll. Slice the roll into about one-inch pieces or wheels.

Bake for 10 minutes and serve warm. If you are not cooking right away, place on trays, freeze, then when frozen, remove from trays, put in zip lock bags and return to freezer until ready to bake.

Simone Grandmain is an internationally published travel and food writer who currently calls Truckee-Tahoe home. She welcomes your recipes, kitchen "must-haves" and food news at simonegrandmain@gmail.com.