This recipe you can find here or on the back of a Libby’s can of pumpkin.  It’s a simple and easy way to make a moist and delicious pumpkin roll.  And you don’t have to dig out the pumpkin flesh from the gourd which I know makes Elisabeth happy.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper.  Grease and flour paper.  Sprinkle a thin cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl.  Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick.  Beat in pumpkin.  Stir in flour mixture.  Spread evenly into prepared pan.  Sprinkle with nuts if using.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched.  Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel.  Carefully peel off paper.  Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end.  Cool on wire rack.

In the meantime, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth.  Carefully unroll cake; remove towel.  Spread cream cheese mixture over cake.  Reroll cake.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

For the beginniners in the group, rolling a cake may seem really scary.  Like anything new, take your time.  It’s really easy and the more you practice, the more perfect your roll will be.  Just like the jelly roll around my belly.  Hee hee.  Enjoy!

xo–me

1.  Ernie.  I have a thing for Ernie of Sesame Street.  It all started a few years ago when my friend gave me an Ernie hand puppet he used in one of his films.  Actually, he was selling it at a yard sale and I thought that was a very bad thing.  Very bad.  I rescued the puppet from the pile of toys and brought him inside.  From then, it grew and grew until Ernie saturated my life.  One year I made a pumpkin in his image. I used a piece of black fur for his hair, a flickering battery operated candle to illuminate him and a few magic markers to complete the look.

2.  Men.  When he and I first started dating, it was in the fall of the year. He was suprrised I was carving pumpkins, saying he hadn’t done that since he was a little boy.  I decided to surprise him with a pumpkin of his own.  What face would be masculine and appropriate?  I figured it should be something he loved and not just any ole face so I carved what I thought was the logo for his favorite football team–the Indianapolis Colts.  This is a repeat offender every year in our home.

3.  Drill.  Get out your power drill and create this polka dot pumpkin.  On some holes, I drill completely through the pumpkin while on others I only drill in until the tip is piercing the flesh.  Then when you illuminate the pumpkins, different size streams of light will pour through the flesh.

4.  Minis.  Last but not least, I grab a handful of the small pumpkins to carve goofy things.  These two are examples of the silly.  One is a sly face with eyes looking sneeringly to the left (or maybe the right) and the other is covered with carvings of dollar bill signs.  It was a nod to the amount of money I had spent on pumpkins!

The suggestions I have here are merely to open your mind and get away from traditional faces.  They are fun but do a few others as well.  Many of you are very talented and do the serious Martha Stewart style carvings.  I wish I were that talented but am always pleased with my outcome.  Simply because I have fun doing it, and have a sense of pride each day coming home from work and seeing those beasts on the front porch.

Have you figured out what your last minute pumpkin may be?

xo-me

These brownies are close to pumpkin bread.  They are sweet, moist and really heavenly.  My girl Robin swears by Aunt Barb’s pumpkin brownies.  You will too.

Ingredients:

1-15 oz. can pumpkin
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, pumpkin, and sugar.  Stir in remaining ingredients until evenly mixed.  Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes or until center springs back when touched.

Sometimes I serve these with fresh whipped creme or the 70′s child inside me wants Cool Whip!  Yum.

xo–me

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 c. plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
whipped cream, for serving

When the cheesecake has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator.  When the cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut the cake into 8 equal pieces.  Serve with a generous portion of whipped cream on top.

This may seem like a labor of love but it is very, very worth it!  Enjoy this sweet, delicious treat.  I am dreaming about it now.

xo–me

Ingredients:

1/3 c. cream cheese, softened
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I use mild or sharp, depending on my mood)
1/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. pineapple preserves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 short pretzel rod

Combine all ingredients except pretzel until well blended. Shape into a ball and wrap in saran wrap to refrigerate for 3 hours. Use a knife to draw lines down the side like a pumpkin would have. Insert pretzel in the center as the stem!

You can serve this with crackers, pretzels, apples or I sometimes get a knife and smear it over fresh made popcorn.

xo–me

Ingredients:

10 oz. multi-grain angel hair pasta
1 medium shallot
3 medium garlic cloves
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 sprigs sage
3/4 c. canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. low fat milk (I use heavy cream, I know bad girl!)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.  Meanwhile, mince the shallot and garlic and finely chop the sage.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the shallot and garlic.  Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly until they have softened.  Add the pumpkin puree, broth, milk and half of the sage.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is slightly thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.

Drain pasta and add to the sauce.  Add 2 Tbsp. of cheese and toss well.  Divide among individual plates and serve with remaining sage and cheese.

Add a nice salad with autumn vegetables, some hors d’oeuvres while your guests arrive, a nice selection of beverages, sweet bread and a yummy dessert. Voila, you have your menu for your first dinner party!

xo–me