Pumpkin Pancakes with Toasted Pecan Syrup

My husband is not a fan of pumpkin, so I wait until I have a houseful of people who will share these Pumpkin Pancakes with me. The recipe came from Martha Hall of the Arcadian Inn in Edmond, Oklahoma. Ms. Martha served our pancakes with fresh fruit and crispy bacon. I've been a fan of this luscious treat since the first rich bite went into my mouth. It couldn't be any easier to make, unless you can get someone else to do it for you. 

NOTE: This time you are using PIE MIX, not
canned pumpkin

PUMPKIN PANCAKES:

1 can pumpkin pie mix

1 egg

3 cups pancake mix (Aunt Jemima)

1/2 cup oil

Combine all ingredients and add water to desired consistency.

TOASTED PECAN SYRUP

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/3 cup butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup pecans, toasted

In a 2-quart saucepan combine sugar, syrup, butter, egg, and vanilla. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full boil. Stir in pecans before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator. 

Combine all pancake ingredients

Mix until smooth

Add water (I like to use Sprite to keep the pancakes fluffy) until you have the
 desired consistency. These pancakes are little thick, I added more water to the next batch.
You can add chopped pecans at this point, if you like.
Cook on low heat until bubbles begin to appear on top.

Flip and continue cooking on low heat until brown on both sides.

While the pancakes are cooking, make your syrup in a separate pan.

Gather your ingredients. 1/3 cup of butter is 5 1/3 tablespoons.

To avoid having strings of cooked egg white in your syrup, combine your
 beaten egg with the sugar before turning on the heat.

Add syrup and vanilla.

Add butter and cook over medium heat.

 Stir constantly until mixture comes to a full boil.
 Stir in pecans before serving.

or sprinkle on top of your pancakes before serving.

I keep leftovers in a container in the refrigerator
to use when the grandkids come. Just warm it up
in the microwave and serve over any pancake.
(I've been told it's pretty good on fingers too!)

Next week I'll give you the other component to my traditional holiday brunch, Make-Ahead Scrambled Egg Casserole. It keeps in a Crockpot for up to four hours!

Turkey Gravy & Merry Ho Ho

"I'm going to post my Scrambled Egg Casserole and Pumpkin Pancake recipes this week," I told my daughter.
"Mom, what I really need is a Giblet Gravy recipe. Please pray for me, I'm making my first Thanksgiving turkey. Ben is going to try to order a turkey from the butcher. They don't carry them in the grocery store. Pray his Hungarian translates into what we need. We need a cranberry sauce recipe too. You can't buy the canned stuff, but we can buy fresh cranberries at the specialty store," Megan explained.
"But what about my brunch recipes?" I asked.
"I already have those, so they can wait," she laughed. So for my kids in Hungary here are those recipes. 

GIBLET GRAVY

1/4 cup fat from turkey drippings

Vegetable oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups liquid (turkey juices, canned chicken broth or water)

Browning sauce, if desired

Salt and pepper, as needed

1. Pan and drippings will be hot, so be careful when handling. Pour drippings (turkey juices and fat) from roasting pan into a glass measuring cup, leaving the brown particles in the pan. With a spoon, skim fat from drippings. Return 1/4 cup of the fat to the roasting pan. (If there isn't enough fat, add oil to measure 1/4 cup.) Measuring accurately is important because too little fat makes the gravy lumpy and too much fat makes the gravy greasy.

2. Stir the flour into the fat in the pan, using a wire whisk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Add enough chicken broth or water to remaining drippings to measure 2 cups. Stir into pan. Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring constantly, Continue boiling 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in a few drops of browning sauce for a richer deeper color. Taste the gravy, and add salt and pepper, if desired.

It is difficult to find canned chicken stock in Hungary, so I started with a rotisserie chicken.
I left plenty of meat on the carcass when I de-boned it. Place in a pot and covered it with water.

This is a great time to clean out the vegetable drawer. Cut up celery and onion
 (and any other vegetable that needs a new zip code) and throw it in with the chicken.
This chicken already had some lovely spices on it, but I did add about a teaspoon of
poultry seasoning. Cover and simmer until the meat falls off the bone.

I let the broth cool overnight and then skimmed the fat off the top.

I didn't have quite enough fat, so I added a coconut oil.
(any vegetable oil will do)

I strained the broth until I had 2 cups.
The rest I used in chicken and dumplings.

Stir flour into heated oil to make a roux.

Stir constantly until it browns.

Browning gives it additional flavor.

I heat my broth in the microwave and add it slowly
to the roux so my gravy is smooth and not lumpy.

Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper if needed.

So where are the giblets (heart, gizzard, liver & neck)? You can make your stock using giblets. Strain the stock for the gravy. Chop the giblets up and add them back to the gravy at the end. I never put liver in my gravy because so few people like it. I do use the gizzards, heart, and neck meat, but you can serve it without any of those pieces and call it Turkey Gravy. I like to make my gravy the day before and warm it up before serving. It's just one less thing to stress about on an already busy day.

For Ben my favorite son-in-love in Hungary, my cranberry relish. We call it Merry HoHo! I make a double batch at Thanksgiving, seal it in jars and eat it with Christmas Ham too!

MERRY HO HO!

2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen, 1 12oz bag is enough)

2 fresh oranges, (ends & seeds removed)

2 apples, cored (I like the tartness of Granny Smiths)

1/2 to 1 cup sugar

1 cup chopped pecans (opt.)

Directions

1. Slice unpeeled oranges and apples into eighths. Place half of the fruit in food processor or blender. Pulse until evenly chopped. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with remaining fruit. Stir in sugar to taste. Add pecans. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Gather your ingredients. Toast your pecans, if desired
Three minutes in the microwave will be sufficient for 1 cup of pecans.

Pulse in food processor or blender.

My blender broke so I ended up using my
mini-chopper.

I just cut the fruit a little smaller and did them in batches.

Place all the fruit in a bowl. Add sugar and pecans.

Mix together and you have Merry Ho Ho!

I like to put plan-overs in small jars and use it through out the
holiday season. Sometimes we fry turkeys for neighbors and friends.
 I like to send a little Merry Ho Ho when we deliver their turkey.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, YA'LL!

PUMPKIN CRUNCH

 

This is my favorite holiday pumpkin dish. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It has all the deliciousness of pumpkin pie without the soggy crust. I found this recipe in the most unlikely of places--Hawaii! During her sophomore year my youngest daughter won a baking contest at Hanalani High School in Mililani, Hawaii, with this recipe.  

PUMPKIN CRUNCH

1 can solid-pack pumpkin (29-oz)	1 can evaporated milk (13-oz)
1 cup sugar	3 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ tsp. cinnamon	1 box yellow pudding cake mix
1 cup nuts, chopped	1 cup butter, melted

Filling:  Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon and eggs together.  Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan lined with waxed paper. 

Pour  box cake mix (dry) over pumpkin mixture and pat nuts on cake mix.  Spoon melted butter evenly over nuts.  Bake at 350˚for 50-60 minutes.

Invert onto tray and peel off waxed paper.  When slightly cooled, spread frosting over pumpkin.
Frosting:
1 (8 oz) pkg. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
3/4 cup Cool Whip, thawed
Beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Spread  over cake evenly.  Refrigerate.  Cut into squares.

So this is how you do it:

Assemble your ingredients.

Be sure you use the large can of pumpkin,
NOT pumpkin pie mix.

Line 9x13 pan with wax paper.
 I spray PAM on the bottom so the paper will stick.
Preheat oven to 350˚

Combine sugar, cinnamon, milk, and eggs to pumpkin.
(I like more spice so feel free to add a teaspoon cinnamon if you like)

Pour pumpkin mixture in lined pan.

Spread cake mix and pecans on top of pumpkin mixture.

Pour melted butter on top.

Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Place serving tray on top and carefully turn over.

Gently remove wax paper,

Cool before frosting.

Combine softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
Gently fold in Cool Whip.

If you are going to serve immediately garnish with additional
chopped pecans. I needed to cover and refrigerate this one for a luncheon
tomorrow, but I will garnish with candied pecans before serving. 

This is a holiday treat, not something I eat every day, so I make it just like it is written. If you desire, you can reduce calories by using Egg Beaters to reduce fat. Next time I might try coconut oil instead of butter to make a healthier choice. Why don't you give it a try and let me know how it works out! I'm going to have a piece of this one.

Pumpkin Bread

I love all the flavors of fall, ginger, cinnamon, apples, but especially pumpkin. I've created this pumpkin bread recipe using white whole wheat flour and olive oil to bring additional health benefits to this aromatic bread.
The recipe, as written below, makes one loaf of bread. I always double the recipe, and add nuts and fruit to half of it. Extra goes into the freezer.
Super easy, I never even dirty my mixer.

 Originally, I used fresh-cooked pumpkin, but who has time for that?
 Now I use canned pumpkin and it turns out perfect every time.
Just be sure you grab the can on the right,
and not the Pumpkin Pie Mix on the left.
One can is enough for a double recipe.

Coarsely chop your nuts
(I just break them up by hand)

For extra flavor toast them in the microwave.
Three minutes on high was perfect for a cup of pecans.

Grease and flour your pans.
Preheat oven to 350.



Assemble your ingredients.

Combine dry ingredients in small bowl or large measure cup.
(Yup, I know the pic is upside down. Just want to see if you're paying attention.)

Add sugar to slightly beaten eggs.

Add pumpkin, oil, and water to sugar mixture.

Blend in dry ingredients, but do not overmix.
Add toasted nuts and dried fruit (optional).

Fill prepared pans half-full.
The mini-loaves have fruit & nuts.
The large loaf is plain.

Bake until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
50-60 minutes for large loaf. 25-30 minutes for the small loaves.

I keep mini-loaves in the freezer.

Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices in small bowl.

Combine eggs, sugar, olive oil, water and pumpkin in large bowl. 

Mix in dry ingredients, but DO NOT OVERMIX.

Stir in nuts and fruit, if desired.

Pour into well-greased and floured loaf pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 or until toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Turn out of pan and let cool on a rack. Makes one loaf. Freezes nicely.

Perfect with a cup of tea when a friend drops by.