#Thanksgiving Pumpkin Roll

From Peg Cochran

A jelly roll cake is always impressive but is actually easier than you think!  This version makes  a wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie and would also be delicious at Christmas.  Once you master the jelly roll, you can vary the cake and the filling with ease.  Don't worry if the cake cracks or isn't perfect--the filling will pull it together and the powdered sugar will cover any mistakes.  Besides, it's so delicious, your guests will be too busy eating it to worry about the appearance.

Cake

3 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 teaspoon salt

Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Powdered sugar

Beat egg yolks for five minutes, gradually incorporating pumpkin and sugar.  Sift together dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture.

Line a jelly roll pan (10 x 15) with parchment paper.  I find it "sticks" better if you spray the pan with PAM even though that means you'll have to wash it.  I also spray the parchment paper with PAM which I guess makes me a "belt AND suspenders" type of person.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan.  It will be thin compared to a cake. That's how it's supposed to be.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes but check after about 12 minutes.  You don't want it to be too dry or it won't roll.  It should be "spongy."  

Sift powdered sugar all over a clean linen dish towel.  The sugar will prevent the cake from sticking.  Invert the cake onto the prepared dish towel (sometimes it helps to have a second pair of hands for this.)  Peel off parchment paper, sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and roll cake up into the towel (the towel will roll inside the cake.)  Let cool.

Filling

1 cup powdered sugar
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened 
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Beat the above until light and fluffy--approximately 5 minutes.

Carefully unroll the cake and spread with filling.  Roll back up (starting at the same end you rolled it up the first time.)  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  For a neat look, cut off very ends of cake since they may be uneven.  (Enjoy the end pieces and look forward to the rest!) 


We were having a terrible storm while I was making this--the lights flickered several times.  Fortunately I have a gas oven so even if we lost power, I was confident I would be able to finish the cake! 

Use a strainer to sprinkle powdered sugar on towel

Pumpkin mixture

Dry ingredients

Batter spread in pan - it will be a thin layer

Cake inverted onto towel

Cake rolled in towel

Filling for cake ready to be mixed

Cake spread with filling

Cake rolled around filling and covered with powdered sugar

Just waiting for Thanksgiving dinner!

Wishing you and yours a most joyous Thanksgiving Day!

Me with the real life Reg at Dog Day in the Park

My Gourmet De-Lite mystery out now!



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A Dinner Your Kids Can Make!

I'm so old my picture is in b/w! Me with my grandmother's dog Pinky

by Peg Cochran

Girl Scout Stew

This has been such a fun week on Mystery Lover’s Kitchen!  I’ve loved seeing the recipe suggestions for dinners, lunches and snacks although my little ones are grown and my granddaughter is approaching pre-school age.

My recipe is one that your children can make on their own!  I’m guessing they need to be around 10 or 11 to handle this, but you will be able to judge when they are ready to safely use the stove.   We called this “Girl Scout Stew” although the recipes I have seen on-line are slightly different.  I assume I got this recipe from my Girl Scout troop.  It was a huge thrill when my mother let me make it for dinner!  Besides, I thought it was delicious!  But we never had it when my father was home.  He refused to eat anything resembling a casserole (except my grandmother’s sauerbraten and my aunt’s stuffed cabbage).  He liked his meat, vegetable and starch neatly separated on the plate!

The original recipe for this did not include the onion, but when making it for me and my husband to take the pictures, I thought it would add something.  You can leave it out, or, you can teach your son or daughter some knife skills.  I’ve shown one technique for cutting an onion below. I was afraid my husband would find this dish too unsophisticated, but he went back for seconds and ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.  So much for sophistication!

It’s a huge thrill for a child to be able to make dinner for the whole family!  I always felt like a million dollars when I did it.  The one thing you might want to help with or supervise is draining the pasta from the boiling water.

I also halved the recipe for this blog since it’s just me and my husband.  The ingredients are for the full recipe and should serve four.

Ingredients:

Olive or vegetable oil

1 lb. ground beef
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped (optional)
1 lb. elbow macaroni

Add 1 TBL of olive or vegetable oil to your frying pan and turn heat to medium high. Saute onion until translucent (if using.)  Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat loses its raw color.  Add two cans of tomato sauce and let simmer on a very low flame for 15 to 20 minutes to meld the flavors (Optional step – if you don’t have the time, just proceed with the recipe.) 

Cook elbow macaroni in boiling water until just done (don’t overcook).  Add to ground beef/tomato mixture and stir.  Heat through—approximately five minutes.  Can be served as is or topped with grated parmesan cheese.

To Cut Your Onion.

First peel onion, then cut in quarters, leaving the stem on.

 

Lay onion quarter on its side and slice lengthwise at regular intervals but without cutting through stem.  This will keep your onion layers together.  Turn onion to other flat side and again slice through vertically at intervals.  Now, slice across the onion, perpendicular to your original cuts.  You should have nice diced pieces!  Discard stem end when done and repeat with remaining onion quarters.  

Both my books are out now!  Allergic to Death is the first in the Gourmet De-Lite series.  Murder Unmentionable is written under my pen name of Meg London and is first in the Sweet Nothings Lingerie series.