Recipe(tried): Chicken Divan, Spinach and Cranberry Salad with Warm Chutney Dressing, Green Beans with New Potatoes, Pumpkin Roll Cake

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, I'm gonna get pretty busy in a little while...I'll be picking up Mama soon; she'll be taking care of my 3 kitties while were away and then I'll be mowing the yard and loading up the washer and dryer after that.

Paula Deen will be helping me out this morning too! Bless her heart, she does have the yummiest recipes around! After watching her and her delicious food on Good Morning America this morning, I decided to make her recipes 'cause I know they always come out good!

I wanted to share with you something I have been doing with all those recipes I tend to cut out of magazines...I find it incredibly easy for me to put them into 4 categories...Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. For example, around August I started finding recipes for Fall and so I put them into a file titled "FALL". That file is easily accessible to me by putting in my kitchen by the phone. When I need to plan a menu, I go to the file and pick thru it. If a recipe comes out delicious, that recipe is then taken out of the file and gets its rightful place in the recipe box, in other words, it's a keeper! The recipes that just don't turn out the way I thought, well, they get tossed.

I find that this way I get to try out all those recipes I cut out instead of just filing them away in the recipe box. And, they get to be tried out much quicker.

I will be gone from Wednesday til October 30th. We will be house-hunting in Athens, Georgia until Friday and then its off to the beautiful Western North Carolina mountains! My goodness, I get so excited every year about this trip and the anticipation of that cold nip in the air and seeing the gorgeous change of colors in the leaves makes me feel like a kid going on a field trip!!

I will report back to you on any meals we have enjoyed in Georgia...you know I will be on the lookout for those "meat-and-threes places". Southern food is soooo delicious and comforting! Then there's NC barbeque to look forward to and especially the trip to Waynesville. That's where Barber's Apple Orchard is and they have the best Apple Cider and turn-overs as well as North Carolina Apple Bread too! Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention the antique mall across the street with just the right prices!

Well, here are tonight's recipes...have to get going to get Mama, its' already 9 AM! I will miss you all but I will try to write something when I get to the Bryson City library.

Hugs, Gina

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Chicken Divan
Spinach and Cranberry Salad with Warm Chutney Dressing
Green Beans with New Potatoes
Pumpkin Roll Cake

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CHICKEN DIVAN
Recipe by Paula Deen

2 (10 ounce each) packages of frozen chopped broccoli*
6 chicken breast halves (about 4 pounds), cooked, boned, and shredded
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Remove the outer wrappers from the boxes of broccoli. Open one end of each box. Microwave on full power for two minutes, until thawed. Drain the broccoli or spinach and put into a large bowl. Add the shredded chicken.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and wine. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken. Mix well with a spatula.

Place the mixture into an 11x7-inch casserole dish or two (9-inch) square disposable aluminum foil pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula. Combine the Parmesan cheese and break crumbs and sprinkle over the top. Dot with the butter.

IF SERVING IMMEDIATELY:
Bake, uncovered in a 350 degrees F oven for about 30 minutes, until bubbly.

TO FREEZE UNCOOKED CASSEROLE:
Wrap the uncooked casseroles securely with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Place each pan into a plastic freezer bad and seal. Freeze.

PREPARE A LABEL WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
Allow casserole to thaw 24 hours in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap and foil. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, until bubbly.

* If you add two 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach, squeezed until all liquid is out, this dish become Chicken Florentine!

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SPINACH AND CRANBERRY SALAD
WITH WARM CHUTNEY DRESSING
Source: Southern Living Magazine; November 2002
Servings: 8

2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 pkgs. (6 oz. each) fresh baby spinach
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1 cup dried cranberries
2 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
Warm Chutney Dressing

Melt butter in non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add pecans and cook stirring 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper; toss to coat. Drain pecans on paper towels.

Toss together pecans, spinach, bacon and next 2 ingredients. Drizzle with Warm Chutney Dressing, gently tossing to coat. Serve immediately.

WARM CHUTNEY DRESSING
Makes 1 cup

6 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup bottled mango chutney
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil

Cook first 5 ingredients in saucepot over medium heat, stirring constantly 3 minutes.

Stir in olive oil, blending well; cook 1 minute.

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GREEN BEANS WITH NEW POTATOES
Recipe by Paula Deen

3 pounds fresh green beans
1/4 pound salt pork, sliced
1/4 cup bacon grease (pour this into a jar and keep on hand in the refrigerator to use as needed)
2 cups chicken broth plus more if needed (canned is fine)
2 to 3 teaspoons House Seasoning
12 small red potatoes, or more
1 onion, cut into slivers

Remove ends from the beans. Snap the beans in two, place into a colander, wash, and she aside to drain.

Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron Dutch oven, lightly brown the salt pork in the bacon grease over medium heat, turning often, for approximately 10 minutes.

Toss the green beans into the pot, stirring them with a wooden spoon to coat well with the pork fat. Add the stock and House Seasoning. Cook over medium-low heat, covered tightly, for approximately 30 minutes, or until the beans are half done.

While the beans are cooking, peel a center strip from each new potato with a potato peeler.

At the end of 30 minutes, add the potatoes and onion to the beans; add 1/4 cup more broth if needed. Cook, covered tightly, until the potatoes are tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes, periodically checking the pot to make sure a small amount of liquid remains.

When the potatoes are tender, tilt the lid slightly, off to the side of the pot, and continue to cook until the green beans are wilted, approximately 15 minutes.

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PUMPKIN ROLL CAKE
Recipe by Paula Deen

CAKE INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
11/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
6 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/8 teaspoon salt
Confectioner's sugar
FILLING INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
10 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup English toffee pieces
Confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 cups purchased caramel sauce, warmed

TO MAKE THE CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 15-by-10-by-1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper, then spray with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice into a small bowl. Beat the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until very thick. Add the pumpkin and combine at low speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until mixed.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Fold into the cake batter with a spatula until most of the white streaks are gone. Spread the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the top.

Bake until a cake tester comes clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. While hot, dust the cake generously with confectioner's sugar. Loosen the edges and turn the cake out onto a kitchen towel. Fold the towel over the long edge of the cake and roll up lengthwise like a jelly roll. Let cool completely, seam down, for one hour in the refrigerator.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In a small saucepan, soften the gelatin in the rum. Stir over low heat until the gelatin dissolves. Let cool. Beat the cream and confectioner's sugar in a large bowl until peaks form. Fold in the gelatin and 6 tablespoons of the toffee pieces.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Unroll the cake. Spread the filling over the cake, then sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of the toffee pieces. Starting at one long side and using the towel as an aid, roll up the cake. Place the cake, seam down, on a platter. The cake can be prepared one day in advance. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate.

TO SERVE:
Trim the ends of the cake on a slight diagonal. Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar. Spoon some warm caramel sauce over the top, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup toffee pieces. Cut the cake crosswise into 11/2 inch slices, using a serrated knife. Pass more warm sauce - and enjoy the compliments!