Pumpkin Roll

I'll start by admitting I've never been able to get the hang of making a pretty pumpkin roll that doesn't have big cracks in the top. Until now...

My niece Mickey requested this (and nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies, I'll post that a different day - they are SO good!) for her birthday - and even though I figured it wouldn't be pretty it would still taste good so I'd give it another go. This time it turned out perfectly! The two things I did differently must have made the difference - I pulled the cake out a couple minutes before I normally would, it was light brown but a tiny bit underdone; and I coated the tea towel heavily in powdered sugar before rolling the cake up. I followed a  Libby pumpkin roll recipe that I googled - the only thing I changed was swapping a big teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon and clove the recipe called for. I figured I have the pumpkin pie spice, might as well use it.  I sliced this before realizing I forgot to sprinkle with powdered sugar (oops), and I made whipped cream to serve on the side. Delish and impressive - I'm so happy I finally did it!

before you add the filling, the cake gets rolled
up in a kitchen towel well coated with powered
sugar until it cools. 

Pumpkin Bisque

I have a recipe for butternut squash bisque that I love -  it's from the LA Times and I've made it bunches of times -  I was planning to make it this weekend since it's starting to feel like Fall and this is the perfect Fall soup...however, before I could make the soup I decided to use the squash for a different project (see tomorrow for Squash Ghosts LOL!). 

I have a craving for the soup now and just adapted the recipe to what I have on hand - canned pumpkin. It turned out SO good, the house smells amazing...

The recipe calls for leeks - these are often very dirty on the inside and can be difficult to clean. My method is to cut off and discard the root end and green top (where it goes from very light green to darker), make a cut lengthwise down the leek but don't cut all the way thru. Then run it under water spreading the layers apart and washing thoroughly.

After cooking the leeks and garlic I added the pumpkin, chicken broth, nutmeg, cumin, s&p. Cook for 20 minutes then puree the solids (I used my immersion blender which I'm not even sure why I own, I never use the thing. Today I got it out though...a food processor or blender is what I would normally use - be careful obviously to not let the hot soup splash out when pureeing!).

Once it's pureed smooth, add corn and a little bit of cream. Stir well. Add more broth or seasoning if you want.

If using butternut squash the nutritional info is 230 calories, 7g fat. Didn't take the time to figure out if pumpkin changes those numbers. 

This is adapted from a recipe published in the LA Times years ago for Butternut Bisque - if you want to make it the original way just substitute chopped butternut squash for the pumpkin. 

1 T. oil
1 medium leek, white part only, sliced
1 clove minced garlic
1 can 100% pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup corn kernels
3 T. whipping cream

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add leeks and garlic, cook 4 minutes until tender. Add pumpkin, broth, nutmeg, cumin, s&p, simmer about 20 minutes. Puree solids in a processor until smooth, adding more liquid if necessary. Return all to pot, stir in corn and cream. Adjust seasonings as needed.

I used frozen corn on the cob for this recipe - after I cut off
most of the kernels Sarge finished up for me.
He's eating it right off the cob - and not biting my fingers!