Pumpkin Roll

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My son and daughter-in-law hosted this year. The tables were absolutely beautiful. My son did his usual amazing job of a brined, roasted turkey and also this year there was fried turkey. Everyone brought side dishes and desserts. It was a veritable feast and then some. In addition to my usual traditional dishes I made a pumpkin roll and also an appetizer of cranberry sauce with a little 'twist' poured over cream cheese and served with crackers.

PUMPKIN ROLL

CAKE:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin


FILLING:
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

FOR CAKE:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan, line with wax paper. Grease paper. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly onto prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto a dish towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in small mixer bowl until smooth. Add nuts. Carefully unroll cake. Remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour, overnight is best. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired. I saved just a little of the cream cheese filling for decoration.

The ingredients in this might sound a bit odd, but trust me, this stuff is good. The horseradish gives it a little 'kick' and the onion is not overpowering. I kind of reminds me of jalapeno jelly.

CRANBERRY SAUCE OVER CREAM CHEESE

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons horseradish (not the sauce)
1/4 cup sugar

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Let sit until cool. Pour over cream cheese brick and serve with crackers.

Chicken/Spinach Lasagna

My son's birthday and I made dinner for him and his family and a college friend. A break from the traditional lasagna. This one has a white sauce with spinach and chicken. I looked at several recipes and came up with my version.

CHICKEN/SPINACH LASAGNA

2 cups cooked, diced chicken (I used boneless breasts)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup half and half
1 package Stouffer's spinach souffle, thawed
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian herbs to season sauce to your taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Reserve 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese for top of lasagna. Saute onion and garlic in butter. Cool. In a medium size bowl, combine remaining 1 1/3 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, soup, onion and garlic, and half and half and set aside. In another medium size bowl, combine spinach souffle, egg and ricotta. Mix well, then combine with soup mixture and mix all together. Season to taste.

In the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish, spread a little of the sauce. Cover with 3 cooked lasagna noodles. Then layer sauce, cheese, chicken, and more noodles and repeat, ending with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

We are having our Thanksgiving feast at work tomorrow. It is early, but many people will be out of town, so this day worked best. I am taking my usual broccoli casserole. I decided to try a different pumpkin cheesecake than the Paula Deen one I made before. I have to say Paula's didn't split but this one did. The praline topping covers it up nicely though. I used Paula's crust and a couple of different recipes for the filling and this is how I made it:

PUMPKIN PRALINE CHEESECAKE

Crust:
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs2 tablespoons light brown sugar1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1 stick melted butter(I also added about 1/4 cup of ground pecans)In a medium bowl combine crumbs, sugar, cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press into a 9 inch springform pan that has been sprayed with Pam and press into bottom and up the sides. Set aside.

Filling:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
4 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix flour, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin. Set aside. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time at low speed just until blended. Beat in pumpkin mixture until smooth. Pour liquid over crust.

Bake for 10 minutes at 450 and then reduce to 370 and bake for another hour or until outside of cake is set but center still jiggles slightly when shaken. Allow to rest in oven for 30 minutes with door open. Cool pan on cooling rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least six hours before serving, overnight is best.

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Bring butter, brown sugar, and milk to a boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. It will thicken as it cools. Add pecans. Pour over cheesecake.