It's the Great Stuffed Pumpkin

It's the Great Stuffed Pumpkin

adapted from 

Pumpkin, Packed with Bread and Cheese

• 1 pumpkin, about 3 pounds
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 pound Italian Sausage
• 1 envelope (6 ounces) stuffing (I used Mrs Cubbison's)
• 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling on top
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• About 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

With the rack in the center of the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brown the sausage in a skillet breaking into bits with a wooden spoon.

Cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin at a 45 degree angle. You want to cut off enough of the top to make it easy for you to work inside the pumpkin. The same as you would for a jack-o-lantern. Remove the seeds and strings from the cap and inside the pumpkin. Generously salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin, and put it in a cast iron skillet or in a pot.

Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, sausage, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper—you probably won't need much salt because of the cheeses, but taste to be sure. Spoon the mix into the pumpkin, pack it down a bit. The pumpkin should be well filled. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin.

Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 90 minutes, the flesh of the pumpkin should be tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Remove the cap and sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Cook an additional 20 to 30 minutes, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.

Serves 2 main course or 4 side dish

ENJOY!

We cut the pumpkin in half and and carefully placed it onto plates to eat right out of the skin. You can cut it the way we did, or just choose to scoop the stuffing and meat out with a spoon.