TasteFood

Pumpkin Pecan Roulade

The holidays are upon us, and it's time to get dressed up. The silver needs polishing, the shoes need shining and the kids need scrubbing. Even our food gets dressed up, with stuffings and dressings, garnishes and twists, crystal and porcelain. Nothing escapes scrutiny, including dessert where dustings and dollops are par for the course. And in the spirit of fancifying, what is known as the ordinary cake roll, becomes an elegant roulade at the Thanksgiving table.

What is the difference between a cake roll and roulade, you may ask. Well, nothing. Both terms describe a light cake which is rolled in a spiral with a creamy filling. Yet the blandly descriptive cake roll is what I might consider as an afternoon snack. For my Thanksgiving dinner, I am inviting the roulade, a French term which elegantly and aptly sums up the nature of the dessert as the word itself rolls off the tongue. I want that dessert at our dressed up dinner table.

Language aside, there are other reasons to include a roulade on your menu. It's elegant yet uncomplicated, remarkably easy to prepare with stunning results. It's a no-fail recipe, which is a welcome relief during the holidays and frees up more time to dress up for our guests.

 

Pumpkin Pecan Roulade with Orange Mascarpone Cream
Serves 8-10

For the cake:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

For the filling:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Prepare cake:
Preheat oven to 375 F. (190 C.) Butter a 12 by 9 by 1 inch sheet pan. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper and dust with flour.
Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl or with an electric mixer until light and thick. Add pumpkin and vanilla; mix until smooth. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined without over mixing. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle pecans over batter. Bake in oven until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12-15 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack 5 minutes. While the cake is cooling, lay a clean kitchen towel on the work surface. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar. Invert cake onto the sugared towel. Carefully peel away the parchment paper and discard. Starting at the long end, carefully roll up the cake, jelly-roll style, in the towel. Cool completely on the wire rack.

Prepare filling:
While the cake is cooling, combine mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, cream and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in orange zest.

Assemble roulade:
Gently unroll cake on the work surface. Spread the filling evenly over cake. Carefully roll the cake back up in the same direction, using the towel. Arrange seam-side down on a platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut in 3/4 inch slices to serve. 

If you like this you might enjoy these other TasteFood recipes: 

Caramelized Pineapple and Mango Napoleon
Chocolate Terrine with Orange Crème Anglaise and Gran Marnier Oranges
Apple Brandy Cake with Caramel Sauce

Thanksgiving Side: Spiced Acorn Squash with Coriander and Lime

Spiced Acorn Squash with Coriander and Lime

Have you noticed that fall and winter vegetables are often rock-hard?  It's as though Mother Nature is providing a protective shield for her bounty to hunker down for the colder weather.  Unlike the squishy, juiciness of summer berries and tomatoes, autumn's pumpkins and squash can double as paperweights and door stops. Drop a butternut squash on your foot, and you might break a toe.

Yet appearances can be deceiving. Cook a winter squash and before your eyes it will undergo a culinary transformation.  Its ugly-frog exterior, all bulbous, mottled and flecked, morphs and softens with roasting, exposing its inner sweetness.  And with some squash, such as acorn and delicata, what was once an impermeable skin becomes edible, complimenting its buttery, vividly colored interior flesh.  No sloucher in the nutrient department either, winter squash and pumpkins, are treasure troves packed with iron, potassium, Vitamin A, and rich sources of beta-carotene.  

So go ahead and continue to use these rock-hard seasonal sculptures as table decorations or bowling balls.  But, I promise you, if you cook them they will transform into the Prince Charming of winter vegetables. 

Spiced Acorn Squash with Coriander and Lime

The spice and citrus add brightness to the buttery squash. Do not even think of peeling the skin. Acorn squash skin is edible once cooked, adding texture and nuttiness to the flavors of the dish. Serves 4 as a side.

2 small or one large acorn squash, stem ends removed, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 red serrano chile pepper, stemmed, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped
Juice of one lime, about 2 tablespoons
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves

Prepare:
Pre-heat oven to 425 F. (200 C.)
Cut squash in 3/4" wedges.  Toss squash with oil, sugar, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl until squash is evenly coated with spices.  Arrange squash in one layer on baking tray, flesh-side down.  Roast in oven until tender and golden, about 45 minutes.  Remove and cool slightly.  Transfer to large bowl and toss with chile pepper, lime juice and cilantro leaves.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Holiday Timeout: Turkey Vegetable Soup with Swiss Chard

I posted this recipe last year between Christmas and New Year when I suffered a food hangover and needed a gastronomic time-out.  This soup was the perfect antidote:  simple, healthy and fortifying.  It handily uses the leftovers from a holiday turkey dinner, adding a satisfying economy to the pleasure of this meal. The broth is clean and light and packed with chunky vegetables.  Swiss chard is added at the end for extra depth.  During the ever-so-festive excesses of the holiday season, we all need a comforting and restorative dish like this in our repertoire.  Consider this recipe an early holiday gift from me to you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Swiss Chard
Serves 4-6

Try using red Swiss chard - it adds a lovely red hue to the stock as it cooks.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, halved lengthwise, cut in thick slices
3 large carrots, sliced 1/2" thick
4 celery stalks, sliced 1/2" thick on the diagonal
8 cups turkey stock (see below)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups thickly shredded Swiss chard leaves
2 cups cooked turkey meat, in large chunks

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Add onion, carrots and celery. Sauté over medium heat until the vegetables brighten and begin to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey stock, bay leaf and thyme.  Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in Swiss chard and turkey meat.  Simmer until chard is wilted.  Discard bay leaf.  Serve immediately.  

Easy turkey stock:

Bones from turkey carcass
1 large yellow onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 celery stalks, cut in 1" pieces
2 large carrots, cut in 1" pieces
2 bay leaves
2-3 thyme sprigs
1 small handful parsley sprigs
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Place all of the ingredients in a large stockpot.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer, partially covered, 2-3 hours, occasionally skimming any fat. Remove from heat.  Carefully drain in a colander placed over a large bowl or saucepan.  Strain again through a fine meshed sieve.  Cool.  Stock can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 6 months.

 

Holiday Timeout: Turkey Vegetable Soup with Swiss Chard

  

I am going to slip this recipe right in. Flanked by a Christmas Eve house party with lots of gløgg and hors d'oeuvres and a looming New Year's black tie dinner, I made this simple, healthy and restorative soup the other day for a gastronomique time-out.

In addition to a Christmas Eve party spread of food, we roasted a turkey for our Christmas Day meal. It may sound redundant on the heels of Thanksgiving, but for Thanksgiving this year we were graced with airport and airline food as we were in transit home from a trip to New York City. While we missed the traditional holiday, it was refreshingly civilized at JFK; we enjoyed a smooth glitch-free day of travel courtesy of the Thanksgiving holiday. We comforted ourselves with the thought of saving our turkey binge for Christmas Day, instead.

So, back to the recipe:  I made this soup using the stock I made from our Christmas turkey, and filled it with vegetables left over from our party.  While the recipe calls for turkey stock and turkey meat, chicken can easily be substituted.  During the ever-so-festive-and-excessive holiday season, this homey soup is delicious, comforting and healthy.  I cannot think of a better gastronomique time-out.

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Swiss Chard
Serves 4-6

The chard adds heartiness to this flavorful soup.  Choose either red or green chard; you will find the red chard will add a deep red color to the stock.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, halved lengthwise, cut in thick slices
3 large carrots, sliced 1/2" thick
4 celery stalks, sliced 1/2" thick on the diagonal
8 cups turkey stock
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups Swiss chard leaves, shredded
2 cups cooked turkey meat, in large chunks


Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Add onion, celery and carrots.  Sauté over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften, 3 minutes.  Add turkey stock, bay leaf and thyme.  Bring to a boil, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in Swiss chard and turkey meat.  Simmer until chard is wilted.  Discard bay leaf.  Serve immediately.

Kitchen Table Philosophy: Thanksgiving

The more the merrier - 
especially on Thanksgiving.

For 17 years I celebrated Thanksgiving abroad in three different countries.  Naturally, this could have been a lonely experience, as this is uniquely a North American holiday. However, these were the best Thanksgivings in my memory.  Each year I would host the Thanksgiving meal, and I invited any American or Canadian I knew and their partners, spouses and families.  These would be friends, friends of friends, family of friends, colleagues of friends - anyone seeking a Thanksgiving celebration and finding themselves far from home.  

I would make the turkey, and everyone was invited to bring a favorite dish from their traditional Thanksgiving table.  The meal would be held in the evening on Thanksgiving as the day was not a recognized holiday in other countries.  Guests would arrive - alone, with friends, significant others, and with children in tow. I don't think there was ever fewer than 20 people at our table any given year. And what a feast we would have:  brined turkey and gravy, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, wild rice, beans, carrots, collard greens, salsas, casseroles, carrots, beans, brussel sprouts, cranberries, compotes, pumpkin pies and cheesecakes, pecan pies, apple crisps.  It was a rainbow of Thanksgiving traditions spanning the North American continent, each year different from the next.  

These moments were to me the best of Thanksgiving:  connecting with others, opening a home and table to friends and strangers, celebrating traditions and giving thanks for friends and family.   I wish all my North American readers - everywhere - a very happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Football Beverages: Tequila Spiked Cider with Cranberry and Lime

In the spirit of lifting our spirits and enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend, what better way than enjoying the big football game with friends, family and warm Tequila Spiked Cider?  After a day of turkey, a little communal couch-potato action sounds like the ultimate recuperative get-together, while digesting, relaxing and cheering on the favorite team.  Post-Thanksgiving, try a pot-luck in the food department, enjoy leftovers from your turkey feast, or, if you desperately seek menu suggestions that are (thankfully) not associated with turkey read here.  

As for beverages, aside from the requisite beer, here is a cider recipe that should help spike up the ambience.  Not for the faint of heart, this cider is fortified with tequila and triple-sec, creating an autumnal version of a margarita.  Yet, served warm it's a perfect harvest concoction.  Got thermoses for the tailgating party?

Tequila-Spiked Cider with Cranberry and Lime

Serves 6-8

5 cups apple cider
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 cup triple sec
Lime slices for garnish

In a medium saucepan, stir together cider, cinnamon and cloves.  Simmer covered 10  minutes.  Remove cinnamon and cloves.  Add cranberry juice and heat until hot, without boiling.  Remove from heat.  Stir in tequila and triple sec.  Pour into mugs or thermoses.  Garnish mugs with lime slices.