Cassoulet only beans, tomato sauce, sausages, and bacon. More expensive versions are likely to be cooked with goose fat and to include Toulouse sausages, lamb, goose, or duck confit. Haute cuisine versions require mixing pre-cooked roasted meats with beans that have been simmered separately with aromatic vegetables, but this runs counter to cassoulet's peasant origins. In the process of preparing the dish it is traditional to deglaze the pot from the previous cassoulet in order to give a base for the next one. This has led to stories, such as the one given by Elizabeth David, citing Anatole France, of a
Pigs in a blanket written mention in 1957, and there were previously regional variations, including "wrapped sausages". The pastry versions are only ever referred to as sausage rolls, varying in size from cocktail bites to jumbo versions that are a complete snack. In the United States, the term "pigs in a blanket" typically refers to hot dogs in croissant rolls, but may include Vienna sausages, cocktail or breakfast/link sausages baked inside biscuit dough or croissant dough. The dough is sometimes homemade, but canned dough is most common. Pancake dough is also sometimes used, although this combination is more commonly served like a corn dog