MOCK PECAN PIE

I know it is hard to imagine a pecan pie without pecans, right? Well, whether you have nut allergies, or you are like me and find it harder and harder to pay nearly $10 a pound for pecans, you might give this fun, quick and easy recipe a try.

 This recipe uses plain old rolled oats instead of pecans. Sounds strange, I know, but the oats soak in the butter and sugars and bake into a golden brown and crunchy topping that sits on top of a traditional soft sweet filling.  As a test, I gave Picky Picky Hubby a slice after dinner and never mentioned the rolled oats. He ate a few bites, declared the pie a "winner" and then said, "I thought you said you were out of nuts" (he thought he was eating nuts)!! It really is tasty.

¾ cup light corn syrup
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup rolled oats (quick cooking is OK if necessary)
¼ cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
9" unbaked pie crust

This takes about "three seconds" to mix up; just mix everything in a bowl (with a whisk) until smooth and pour into unbaked 9" pie shell.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean (my oven took 50 minutes).  That's it!! Quick and easy.

The baked "nut" topping is nice and crunchy and does not taste like oatmeal at all!!  Picky Picky Hubby has told me how much he likes the pie THREE times this evening (that's rare).

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Army Navy Burgers

Oh, I know I'm not supposed to be addicted to burgers from fast foods, no matter how big, juicy, and tasty they are, but I just can't help it. Army Navy's burgers really hit the spot and has become my instant favorite in the burger joints across the metro. Of course, there's Crave Burger and others, but that's a different story. :)






Whenever we pass by Army Navy in Taft Avenue, I always

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CLASSIC JELLY ROLL CAKE

This is an old classic recipe. I see variations of it online (with a whipped cream filling) however, this recipe holds true to its name JELLY roll, and was filled with jam. It is definitely a crowd pleaser. This one is made with my raspberry preserves and it is one of Picky Picky Hubbies favorites.

3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon butter extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup of water (see note)
1 cup of CAKE FLOUR (see note)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup jelly or jam
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 10” x 15” jelly roll pan with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with cooking spray, set aside.

Lay out a clean kitchen towel, preferably one with little or no texture type surface (especially not terry cloth). Dust a generous layer of powdered sugar onto the surface of the towel (the same dimensions as the pan or even a couple inches bigger).

Beat the eggs, on high speed, until very thick and lemon colored (5 minutes). Gradually add sugar while the mixer is running. Put butter extract into a 1/3 measuring cup and then fill the rest of the measuring cup with water (water + butter extract should = 1/3 cup). Add vanilla and water/butter extracts to batter and mix well. Add flour, baking powder and salt to the egg mixture and beat just until batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Slide a knife around the cake edges to loosen it from the pan. While cake is still hot, turn it out onto the powder sugared kitchen towel. Immediately roll up the cake (ALONG WITH THE KITCHEN TOWEL) starting with the narrow end, like this
Set the kitchen towel wrapped cake on a baking rack to cool for 45 minutes. When it has cooled for 45 minutes, unroll the cake/towel (gently peeling the towel away from the cake as you unroll). The surface now facing you will have no powdered sugar on it. Stir the preserves well, to get them all loosened up, then spread it on the cake. Gently roll the cake back up (with NO towel this time). Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and let it cool completely. When cooled, take plastic off and top with glaze.


JELLY ROLL CAKE GLAZE

1/3 cup of butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons of milk

Whisk everything together. If it seems too thick, add another tablespoon of milk. If it seems to thin, add a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar. Spoon glaze onto jelly roll and let it drip down sides.
NOTE: Any kind of kitchen towel will work, but the more textured it is, the more the cake will want to stick to it. If you only have textured kitchen towels (like me) just be careful and pull the towel off of your cake slowly and it will come away fine.

NOTE: The cake will continue to get more and more moist (the moisture from the jam works its way through the cake). So the jelly roll will be at its prime after it has been covered a few hours.Some cooks feel intimidated by jelly roll cakes, but this recipe is nearly a foolproof. The main trick to rolling cake is that it has to be a special sponge type cake to work (don't just try ANY old cake recipe).

Here are a couple more tips:
Remove the HOT cake from the pan and trim any dry edges (that will keep it from cracking when you roll it).

Roll the cake AND THE TOWEL up immediately, don't let it cool down. Let it sit for a full 45 minutes then unroll and spread jam and roll back up immediately. Lay it on plastic wrap and wrap tightly. This will help also help the cake from mis-shaping while it cools (although I've never had a problem with that).

The biggest trick is to get the cake right in the first place. Whip those eggs a full five minutes. The pan size is another thing. For this recipe it HAS to be a 10x15. A thinner cake rolls easier than a thicker cake.

If you don't have butter extract...just add an extra teaspoon of vanilla OR a teaspoon of rum extract.

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