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Hello, foodies…

Did you know this week is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week? It always falls the week before Thanksgiving. And this past Tuesday, the In the Kitchen with David team partnered with the Chester County Food Bank to raise awareness about hunger prevention in our region and beyond.





This is our team with Phoebe—Program Manager at the Chester County Food Bank after we gave them our donation—which added up to be a whopping 1,405 lbs of turkey and trimmings.

Foodies, we’re always advocating to you about how important it is to help those in need and we were truly honored to lend our helping hands. But, none of us realized just how much we impacted the Food Bank—and all those it supports—until we met Phoebe, Anna, Larry, and all the many, many volunteers that work to feed the 70,000 people who go hungry in Chester County every day. I urge you to seek out your local food bank or pantry and make a contribution with food, time, or money. Every contribution—no matter how big or small, means the world to families in your local community. Please remember that this Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all throughout the year.

We have just one more ITKWD team recipe to share with you this Sunday. Talk about a sweet ending…we’re making a Pumpkin Roll with Spiced Cream Cheese Filling! It comes to us from Lori our busy and talented Senior Content Strategist, who maps out our delicious themes and makes connections for us throughout the food world!

 

DV: What type of food did you grow up on? And do you cook now?
LL: I come from a family of six children – three girls & three boys. (Here are the girls!)


My mom, Betty, has always done a great job keeping us all well-fed, especially during the holidays. I love my mom’s comfort food and especially her baking. (I must say, I’m lucky that I have a little bit of her baking gene in me.) She would really make the time to put some excellent meals together–meatloaf & mashed potatoes, pot roast, chicken & dumplings, stuffed peppers, scalloped potatoes, potato pancakes, and so much more. I think that’s the reason why I fit into the ITKWD team!

DV: Tell me about the holidays in your house. What’s on the menu and what are some of your annual traditions?
LL: We typically have the traditional holiday dinner spread: roasted turkey & gravy, mashed potatoes–REAL mashed potatoes (my mom wanted to make sure I said that), stuffing with apples, green beans, fresh baked rolls, and cranberry relish. And if my mom has time, she would make my favorite dish: corn pudding!  I think we always tried so hard to save room for dessert–pumpkin pie, apple pie, Shoo Fly pie, cheesecake, cookies–but it’s hard!

DV: What recipe did you submit and why is it a “favorite” in your house?
LL: On top of all those desserts, my mom always makes a pumpkin roll…which usually gets sent home with all of us since we ate too much. It’s so good even a couple days later. I picked the pumpkin roll for my holiday favorite recipe because it will always remind me of my mom, my family, and the fun we have at the holidays.



Our family can be a little goofy, especially around the holidays. At Thanksgiving, we um…I might be over-sharing…we make sure we give the turkey a good massage to get him to be relaxed prior to cooking while talking in a Julie Child’s voice. My twin sister may or may not also sing and dance with the turkey.


(You’re welcome, Wendy!) We sometimes weigh in before Thanksgiving dinner and then after to see who ate the most (I don’t partake in this). And we always take naps in the late afternoon–one massive couch nap. I’m lucky that most of us still live around the Philadelphia area. My oldest sister, Tonya, lives in Oregon that I wish we could see more often. And one of my brothers, Stephen, is in the Air Force becoming a pilot. I’m excited he can be home for Christmas this year!

Thanks, Lori! I’m REALLY hungry after all of that, aren’t you? Then let’s have some Pumpkin Roll with Spiced Cream Cheese Filling!

This recipe is prepared using the Temp-tations® 3-Piece Old World Chef, Bread, and Utility Knives by Kuhn Rikon (K39903).

Go to David's Recipe Item Page for the full list of items that David has used in his recipes.

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Roll:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour


• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


• 1 tsp ground ginger


• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg


• 1/4 tsp ground cloves


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 4 large eggs


• 1/2 cup granulated sugar


• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed


• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree, packed

Filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened


• 1/2 stick (2-oz) margarine, softened


• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon


• 1/4 tsp ground allspice

Directions:

Make sure a rack is placed in the middle shelf of the oven, and preheat to 375°F. Lightly spray a 15” x 10” jelly roll pan, then line the pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment-covered pan with more oil and sprinkle with flour, evenly coating the pan. Shake off the excess flour and set aside.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium-size bowl. Lightly whisk the dry ingredients to fully incorporate.

Beat the eggs and both sugars in a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed, until thick and light in color.
Add the pumpkin puree and mix on medium-low speed until combined.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low until evenly distributed.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly, then bake for 12–14 minutes or until the top of cake springs back when touched.
While the cake is baking, use a fine-mesh colander to sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with confectioners' sugar. Make sure the towel is completely covered with a generous amount of confectioners' sugar.
When the cake is finished baking, immediately loosen, and turn the hot cake onto the prepared towel.
Carefully peel off the parchment paper and roll up the cake and towel together, starting with the narrow end. Let the cake cool completely.
To make the filling, cream together the cream cheese and the margarine in a medium-size bowl until smooth and free of any lumps. Mix in the vanilla extract.


Next, add in the confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, and allspice and whip together until light and fluffy.


To assemble, unroll the cake and cover it with the cream cheese mixture.


Roll the cake again, this time without the towel. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours.

When you’re ready to serve the cake, dust it with confectioners' sugar as a garnish. Isn't that beautiful?

Let’s go back to the food bank for your blog question today: do you know where your local food bank or pantry is? How do you plan to help those in need this holiday season? With donations? With time? With community awareness? Thank you for keeping those in need at top-of-mind, foodies. I’ll see you Sunday at Noon ET!

Keep it flavorful!
—David