Thursday, October 27, 2011


Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

Thanksgiving is around the corner.  Just 29 days until we stuff ourselves with an endless smorgasbord of food and drink, football and family.  It also marks the traditional start of the holiday season. 

But I am as much a Holiday Diva as a Culinary Diva.  So our holiday season starts this weekend when I send Mrs. Claus’ helper in an eighteen foot U-Haul truck to pick up Christmas decorations from a double-wide storage unit.  I know this may seem early, but it takes about three weeks to fully decorate our house and we like to have everything finished by Thanksgiving.  Over the Thanksgiving weekend we celebrate and give thanks for completion of this indomitable task by treating ourselves to exciting holiday dinners, seasonal cocktails, fine wines and the viewing of our favorite Christmas movies. 

Though it looks like a lot of chopping, prep time is really pretty quick

This week’s French Friday’s with Dorie challenge is really timely and produces a veritable showstopper of a dish.  Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good is the holidays personified.  It is like a beautiful package stuffed with a bounty of delectable treasures, and the pumpkin makes a wonderful serving vessel. 

Cream is added to the ingredients

Mix ingredients until moistened


Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good is truly versatile.  It can serve as an accompaniment to the ubiquitous turkey, even substituting for that glutinous glob that frequently masquerades as stuffing.  It can be used as a starch substitute with virtually any meat, fish or fowl.  Or it can be used as an entrée by exchanging rice for the bread ingredient.  If you have vegetarian friends and are at a loss as to what to serve, leave the bacon out and this dish will wow them.  Even Sasha, the Wonder Dog, couldn’t get enough of Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good.

Stuff pumpkin with mixture

Top pumpkin with topand place in oven for 90 minutes


The secret to this dish may be in the slow roasting (2 hours).   The flavors meld together creating a graduated intensity in flavor. I used a combination of Gruyere and Emmenthal cheeses to good effect.  These cheeses provided a richness and nutty flavor that balanced well with  the crispness and saltiness of the bacon, the firmness of the day-old bread soaked in cream, the flavors and aromas emanating from the fresh thyme and chives and the sweetness of the baked pumpkin. 

Remove pumpkin top after 90 minutes and bake for another 20 (my top had popped off)


Piping hot out of the oven, my pumpkin’s burnt orange color was slightly caramelized at the top and contrasted nicely with the stuffing that overflowed down the sides.  This dish was a feast for the eyes and nose and its image deserved to be captured by a professional photographer for the cover of a foodie magazine. 

Voila!  One stunning dish for your holiday table...


This is a must try for the holiday season, or your next dinner party.  This recipe can be found on page 364 of Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.     

Pumpkin slices easily for individual servings

To read other Dorista's French Friday Experiences:

www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com

27 comments:

  1. That LOOKS amazing. It never occurred to me...to do...that. Nice work!

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  2. wow...yours look so delicious :) love the way the stuffing poping out..mouth-watering indeed and Dorie was not kidding..this is GOOD !

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  3. I love how your stuffing is just overflowing from your pumpkin. Yum!

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  4. Holiday diva indeed! Sounds like your home is the place to be during the holidays. I think we need all the cheer we can generate. These pumpkins were definitely a great kick-start to the season. I love the crisped up bread crumbs!

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  5. I love how the top just popped off your pumpkin, beautiful! I really enjoyed this one and look forward to making again during the holidays.

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  6. I'm impressed. I've been thinking about Christmas, but I'll have to get through T-Giving...decorations and all before I hit the next holiday...just one at a time. But, of course, Christmas is my favorite. Your pumpkin is so fun with its lid popped off and so toasty. Go Diva! Hope you post some pics.

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  7. This is, indeed, a lovely holiday dish with a stunning presentation (the peeps are always impressed)!

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  8. Wow! I love that your pumpkin top popped off! So dramatic!

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  9. Amazing, Christy! I should have stuffed mine more and given it a little broil...love the look of yours!!!

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  10. Absolutely beautiful! I plan on adding this to my Thanksgiving table...it was delicious! Love the overstuffed look...Yum!

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  11. Something about your filling spilling out of the pumpkin makes it look very appealing to me. But it doesn't take much to convince me that pumpkin stuffed with everything good is really GOOD! And the combination of two cheeses sound heavenly too :-).

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  12. That's one delicious looking pumpkin! I'm stunned and awed at your plans for Christmas decoration. We've never gotten farther than the tree. (We rent, so I'll use that as my excuse) haha.

    I replied to your Adria question on my blog, but figured I'd throw it up here, too, so you don't have to check back.

    My absolute favorite so far from Adria's book is the Pasta Bolognese. Also enjoyed the Polenta with Parmesan, The Pork Loin with Red peppers, Mexican style chicken with Rice, and Santiago Cake.

    My main complaint with the book is that, where I am, it's not so easy to come across whole mackerel and lamb necks. I can't get the ingredients for a whole chunk of recipes. Not cool.

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  13. Your pumpkin looks amazing! We all loved this recipe (including Bailey, the Wonder Beagle). If fact, I'm making it again this weekend to go with my Thanksgiving turkey test run.

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  14. Look at your perfect pumpkin! It certainly looks amazing - my issue was I couldn't face a whole pumpkin with no-one but me in this household.

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  15. I LOVE that your pumpkin popped its top. It looks ever so more delicious. Did you just stuff the heck out of that little punkin' or did you add extra cheese. I intend to make this a Signature Dish at my house during Autumn so will try several different variations, including yours. Good Post.

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  16. Love the overflow!
    And you TOTALLY have to post some pictures of unpacking the holiday decorations. I can not even imagine (I am the girl who has to be forced to put up a tree - but I love looking at other people's decorations)

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  17. Your popped top pumpkin made me smile, Christy. And I hope you're going to share photos of your holiday bedecked house when the season is upon is. It sounds like it must be amazing. You might have liked the pic of the snow dusting in my post, but I have to tell you that now we're having a bonafide storm, we're expecting 6 inches. It's not ever Halloween. It's downright crazy. It's making me jealous of your Palm Springs climate.

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  18. That is such a great photo of it overflowing! This is such a great recipe and so versatile. I am also hoping you post some photos of your decorating.

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  19. it looks great! and so beautifully charred! how funny that the top came off! :)

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  20. That sounds fabulous and looks stunning! I'm very intrigued with the idea of stuffing an entire pumpkin.. gonna give it a try!

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  21. I really like the idea of removing the pumpkin top for the end of the baking time. Your filling is such a gorgeous color! Great photos

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  22. Indeed a timely recipe! Your pumpkin turns out beautifully. Yup, magazine cover worthy!

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  23. That is one lucky dog :) I am still trying to get over the amazing amount of holiday decorations (and work) you have coming down the pike - kudos. We are lucky to make the French Friday recipe in casa Tricia. Usually that gets done because Nana hooks me up with ingredients....great recipe and great results !

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  24. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I also love the overflowing top. And I'm still stuck on the idea that you are already decorating for Christmas. Will you come to my house when you're done :-)

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  25. That's one of the best pumpkins I've seen! So beautiful, imagine the look on people's faces when you set it down for Thanksgiving dinner!

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  26. Gorgeous! Your pictures are beautiful.

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