Stuffed Pumpkin

The possibilities for improvisation don't end with the filling as you've got a choice about the way to serve this. Bring the Pumpkin to the table whole, but whether you should slice or scoop is up to you.

If you serve the Pumpkin in slices, you get a wedge of pumpkin piled high with the filling. The wedge serving is best eaten with a knife and fork (or knife and spoon).

If you scoop, reach into the pumpkin with a big spoon and scrape the cooked pumpkin meat from the sides of the pumpkin into the center then stir everything around. You'll have a kind of a mash which is not as pretty as the slices, but its so delicious!

Either way you serve it, I can't imagine this won't become an instant fall favorite.

Ingredients:

1 three pound pumpkin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound stale bread, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/4 pound cheddar cheese, or a cheddar combination, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped
4 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or sliced scallions
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or find a Dutch oven with a diameter that's just a tiny bit larger than your pumpkin.

Carefully cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin with a very sturdy knife. You want to cut off enough of the top to make it easy for you to work inside the pumpkin.

Clear away the seeds and strings from the cap and from inside the pumpkin. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet or in the pot.

Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper only (there is enough salt already) and pack the mix into the pumpkin until it is well filled.

Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the pumpkin until the ingredients are nicely moistened.

Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 2 hours, or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Remove the cap during the last 20 minutes so that the excess liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown.

When the pumpkin is ready, carefully transfer it to a serving platter and serve warm.

If you have any leftovers you can scoop them out of the pumpkin, mix them up in a bowl, cover tightly and chill them for the next day. Dispose of any leftovers on the 3rd day.