Follow The Recipe

Pumpkin cake roll

Posted on November 18th, 2007 by Danielle.
Categories: Uncategorized, breakfast, cake, christmas, dessert, pumpkin, thanksgiving.

Ok, technically I cannot take credit for this recipe. Technically it’s off the back of a can of Libby’s pumpkin filling. However I’m including it for 2 reasons: 1) I’ve changed it a little over the years since I started making it and 2) It’s my signature holiday dessert.

Anyone can make this, but very few people have because it looks like it would be complicated. It’s not. My mom and I started making this when I was younger, and I never stopped.

P.S. If you aren’t one of those people who insists on fruit, granola or egg white omelettes for breakfast (in other words healthy things), Pumpkin cake roll is by far the best morning after breakfast with a cup of coffee. Mmmmm. Libby’s

Pumpkin Cake Roll

The roll:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup pure pumpkin filling (not pumpkin pie mix)

Filling:
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar sifted
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extra (and things you’ll need):
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 dish towel
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet and line with wax paper. Grease and flour the wax paper.

Combine four, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. In a separate larger bowl Beat eggs and sugar until thick. Beat in pumpkin until mixed. Stir in flour mixture. Pour the batter into the wax paper on the cookie sheet. Shake or spoon to spread evenly in the pan. Sprinkle walnuts onto top of batter. Place in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes on the center rack. Top should spring back when touched.

Lay the dish towel flat on the counter. Spread 1/2 cup powdered sugar over the towel to prevent sticking. When the cake roll is done remove it from the oven and overturn it onto the powdered towel. Walnuts should be down (this is easier with two people). Immediately and carefully remove the wax paper from the cake. Start on one side of the towel and roll the cake in the towel (should make a spiral). Place in the refrigerator for about an hour.

In small bowl, Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla together. Filling should be wet and easy to work with. Remove the roll from the fridge and unroll it so it’s open. Frost the top side of the cake (without the walnuts) evenly. Remove the towel and re-roll the cake. Slice and serve.

Follow The Recipe extra:
the nuts: almost any holiday nut will do if you don’t like walnuts. I’ve used pecans, almonds and hazelnuts.
the cake: it sounds weird, but a Tbs or so of olive oil really works well to coat the pan before the paper. The wax slips right out of the pan when it’s done. Really, If you’ve got a buddy who can help you flip the cake onto the towel that’s a good thing, it’ll prevent rips in the cake, however make sure your friend is wearing an oven mitt or using a utensil to steady it other wise there will be burns.
the filling: there’s almost always too much, and that’s ok. Don’t over fill the roll or filling will come gushing out when you try to cut it. It’s bad for you and very sweet, so you don’t need to over-do it. It will be tasted.
overall: this recipe takes a little bit of technique to pull off perfectly. I have yet to do it. Cakes will split, things will stick and get pulled off, you will forget the nuts until after the cakes are baked. It’s OK. Use the filling as glue and don’t panic if it’s not as pretty as it could be; it still tastes phenomenal!

1 comment.

Mexican Casserole

Posted on November 11th, 2007 by Danielle.
Categories: casserole, cheesey, dinner, mexican.

This recipe is part of my childhood. Along with Gumbo sandwiches (PB&J premixed in a bowl then spread on bread) and chicken soup. My mom used to make this dish and we’d all be very excited to eat it. I made it for my dad for his last birthday because it’s his favorite meal. Then I married a guy who had never had it. In our first few weeks of marriage I made it for the first time and he thought I was nuts and that all that cheese and sauce couldn’t possibly be that good, but since then he has grown to love this meal and requests it often. Give it a chance…you’ll love it

Mexican Casserole

1-2 lbs ground beef
16 oz bag of mexican style cheese
3 small cans of hot enchilada sauce (red) / or 2 big cans
1 can of large black olives sliced
1 or 2 small cans of diced jalapeños
1 can of corn
1 small package of corn tortillas

Optional:
1 diced onion
1 cup salsa
1 diced avocado
2-3 diced roma tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Begin by browning the ground beef, set aside. Pre-open all cans. Slice olives if not already sliced. In a 9×13 glass pan lay down enough corn tortillas to cover the bottom one time. On top of the tortillas, spread some ground beef to cover the bottom (you can leave some space since there will be two layers). Sprinkle corn over the beef so it’s evenly spread. Lay sliced olives over the corn so they span the bottom. Throw some diced jalapeños across the layer. Cover all with cheese. Top with Enchilada sauce (1 small can), the sauce doesn’t have to drench, just season. Repeat the process adding a layer of tortillas one more time. When finished with your second layer you should’ve used all of the ground beef, corn and 2 out of 3 cans of the enchilada sauce. For the top layer one final layer of tortillas, top those with cheese, jalapeños, olives and cheese. Finish off with the last can of sauce.

Cover the pan in foil and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until you can see bubbles rising in the bottom of the pan from the sauce. Pull off the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 so the cheese on top gets crispy. Let it cool for 30 min before serving (if you serve before that, serve it in a bowl. It’ll taste great, but it’ll be mushy)

Follow the Recipe Extra:

You can add all sorts of things to this casserole that will be great. Onions with the ground beef, avocados and diced roma tomatoes are good addition. This dish is a lot like pizza, you can add lots of different things to it and it’s almost better reheated from the refrigerator the next day. Hope you like it.

0 comments.

D’s EZ Fruit Cobbler

Posted on November 3rd, 2007 by Danielle.
Categories: cobbler, dessert, fruit.

I’m the type of person that would eat dessert before dinner everyday if my parents hadn’t taught me better. That doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to make and eat a few sugary desserts. One of my favorites is cobbler. I have an aunt that makes the most remarkable cobbler from scratch that would put most desserts to shame. Let’s be clear…this is NOT that recipe This is the bad-for-you, next-to-no-talent-needed, easy-bake-oven-esque recipe.

Fruit Cobbler

1 large can cherry (or whatever fruit) pie filling
1 cup Bisquick
1cup Sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick of butter softened

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread pie filling in a glass pan (9-10″ diameter or 8″x8″ square). In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. The ingredients should be sort of lumpy and soupy, don’t worry about making it smooth. Pour on top of the pie filling. Place pan on a baking sheet to prevent spill over. To prevent clean up, put foil on the baking sheet first.

Follow the Recipe extra:

If you want to gourmet this up a little, use fresh cut fruit in addition or instead of pie filling. If you use fresh fruit only be aware that you’ll need quite a bit. You lose a lot of volume if you aren’t using the canned fruit because fruit off trees do not come with that sugary jelly like stuff..Mmmm. Also, make sure your oven rack is in the center of the oven. If your cobbler sits too high in the oven the top will get burned; too low and the sugar from the fruit caramelizes. Last thing; set your timer for 30 minutes and then check on it, if it’s really golden brown, you might want to reduce the time in. If it’s not done, then set your timer for the remaining 15 min.

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Beef Stew

Posted on October 23rd, 2007 by Danielle.
Categories: Beef, Stews, dinner.

Today it snowed for the first time this fall in Colorado. It was cold and wet and I was hungry. Nothing sounds better than Beef Stew on this type of day. Here’s the recipe

Ingredients:

Steak or beef (a lot of different kinds of beef work for stew, but mostly just make sure you get something nicely marbled, but not fatty. I used top sirloin.)
vegetable or olive oil

1 white or yellow Onion
1 large or 2 small carrots
3 cloves garlic minced
4 or 5 red potatoes diced
1 pkg of mushrooms
1 can green beans
1 can diced Italian style tomatoes
3 cans beef broth
water
1 tbs rosemary
Salt
pepper

Optional:
Celery
squash
bell peppers
red wine

To Make:
pour 2 tbs of oil into a large stock pot. Cube beef and put into pot to brown over medium heat. When beef is browned, remove from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat. Add 1-2 tbs of oil back into the pot. Add onions carrots and garlic, and stir over medium-high heat until soft (about 5 minutes). Add in potatoes and mushrooms and return the beef to the stock pot. Stir over same heat for 5 minutes. Add green beans, tomatoes and first two cans of beef broth plus one can of water. Add rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Cover Bring stew up to boiling for 20 minutes. You will lose a lot of liquid in the steam. Turn the heat down to medium or until you have a rapid simmer. Add last can of broth and 1/2 can of water. Simmer for 1 hour or until beef proteins have been broken down and beef is soft.

Follow the Recipe extra:
For me, Beef Stew is all about knowing how things cook. The beef needs to boil for a long time to be soft and not chewy. The lower the quality of beef, the longer it will need to cook. Softer foods should be added later on in the process so as not to get too soggy. Potatoes can be added later in the simmering process to leave them a little crunchy. Try different things and taste a lot as you go. Also, if you’re like my husband and I and you can’t stand rosemary floating in your soup, use a coffee filter and some cooking twine and make a baggie. Take the baggie out of the stew before serving

You kinda can’t screw up beef stew.

2 comments.

It’s so easy… just “Follow The Recipe”

Posted on October 20th, 2007 by Danielle.
Categories: Announcement.

Hello to all. Welcome to the Follow The Recipe blog.

This whole idea started after a dinner party my husband and I had at our house. I am no gourmet cook, in fact I didn’t know I would be good at cooking until I got married. However, I’ve been asked numerous times after parties and meals for recipes. Since I know how hard it is to find something good to eat that’s easy to make, I decided it was my duty to oblige with a blog.

I’ll try to post a recipe a week. It will always be a recipe I have gotten from someone or made up, but do not doubt, I have made the dish myself and will probably make it again. This is not a chef’s blog, this is a recipe blog for you and me. Follow the Recipe…~ D

2 comments.

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