Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

Or perhaps "everything in the fridge" would be a more apt title.  
The possibilities are endless, but pumpkin season is not. 
We both enjoyed this and look forward to preparing it again,
 before the season is over ~



Per Tricia~

I thought this recipe sounded delicious as soon as I read it,
 and I cautiously tried not to get my hopes up too high.
  I have a track record of FFWD recipe results being
inversely related to my expectations.   


 But I could not help myself.  Excited I got. 
 I love the Fall and this dish is "autumn on a plate".  


Not only did I have to try an orange AND a white pumpkin,
but I got so worked up reading Dorie's "Bonne Idees" that
 I had to stay focused on which combinations
 I was sticking in which pumpkin ! 



Pear, spinach, craisins, ham - it all sounded wonderful. 



I finally decided to make the Dorie version with bacon and add organic spinach (fresh) and craisins.  That was for the orange pumpkin. 



The white pumpkin was treated to the basic recipe but
with ham substituted for bacon, craisins and a
beautiful red pear.   I also used Vermont Cheddar and Swiss. 



The heavy cream did not seem to moisten it enough
 so I added a bit of half and half.



I adored this recipe. 



I will definitely plan to add this to the Thanksgiving table,
 provided we have enough oven space to juggle this and a turkey.


Regardless, I will making this versatile recipe over and
 over again during pumpkin season.
Per Nana :

This is an exceptionally good recipe. 
 Hubby and I really enjoyed it.

The pumpkin I selected was so cute and weighed
about 4 lbs, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

There are only two kinds of pumpkin I am used to.
One sits at the front door for the season, and
 the other one is in pie that I purchase.  
I have never cut one open or cleaned
out the seeds or stringy insides.

For the stuffing I decided to use a combination
of Gruyere and sharp cheddar cheese that
 tasted delicious.  Rather than day old bread,
I used a package of fresh potato bread cubes
Crisp bacon and sliced scallions were
added as well as the thyme.

 I always seem to make too much stuffing  for our
Thanksgiving turkey and  bake the rest in a casserole. 
 While I was baking this recipe I thought how nice
to use a pumpkin instead of the casserole.  

I baked the pumpkin for the two hours
and everything came out perfect.  
After dinner I removed all the stuffing and pumpkin  
meat, gave it a good stir while still warm and
stored the rest in the fridge.

I think this would make a lovely addition to a holiday meal.

27 comments:

  1. Great job, ladies! Tricia, your savory/sweet combinations really appeal to me. That cross-cut picture of the orange one is wonderful. Nana - I went full savory like you did. The scooped out pumpkin mixture looks delicious.

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  2. This is absolutely a wonderful addition to any holiday table! Good on Nana for cleaning her first pumpkin for this recipe!

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  3. The pear and ham sound wonderful. I love all the photos!

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  4. Tricia & Nana...well done ! yea the next time I baked this again I will do the pear and ham combination...you have baked two pumpkins of different flavor sweet and savory...mmmm nice !

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  5. All your filling sound wonderful! I definitely want to try fruit in it next time.

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  6. Everything looks wonderful! Nana, I can't believe you've never scraped a pumpkin to make a jack o'lantern! So glad everyone enjoyed this lovely fall dish.

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  7. Wow...wonderful pumpkins...all of them. Such great ideas. And, Nana, it's about time you cleaned out a pumpkin, strings and all. One of those life skills everyone should endure. All your photos are great. Well done, both of you!

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  8. This dish makes me wish that I had two ovens for Thanksgiving! I don't know how I'm going to make this work with the turkey. Tricia, I'm wondering how the flavor was with the white pumpkin. Did it taste different from the orange?

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  9. They all look wonderful! Nana - that's a great idea to use a pumpkin for the extra Thanksgiving stuffing. You could even bake it the next day if you don't have room in the oven. Tricia - both of you pumpkins look delicious. I definitely would like to try this with spinach. Great job!

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  10. So glad you both enjoyed! I'm catching up with you both after missing you the last two weeks :)

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  11. Both of your pumpkins look fabulous! Tricia, I plan on trying it with the pear next time I make this...I also adored this recipe! Absolutely delicious! Glad you both enjoyed this...have a great weekend!

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  12. it all looks wonderful!! like the spinach idea. so fun to see what other people tried!

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  13. Beautiful photos, excellent results! Gorgeous results, Ladies! What a way to set the season.

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  14. Tricia, did you prefer one over the other? your pear and ham sounds delicious!!! :)

    oooh Nana! serving the extra stuffing IN a pumpkin would be pretty fantastic!!!

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  15. Especially excited to see you use the pear - how wonderful. I want to try cranberries next and also an Asian-inspired pumpkin too - so many ideas!

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  16. I love the variations!
    Nana - how have you managed to get away with not cleaning out a pumpkin for so long :-)
    This would be great for a holiday if one can juggle things around. Two ovens would be nice.

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  17. Wow, your pumpkins look wonderful! I've already decided to make the boys cook the turkeys outside, so that I could free up the oven for pumpkin!

    Your combinations look great. When I first made this (admittedly winging it), it wasn't creamy. I took a departure for mine this week, but yours have inspired me to try again.

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  18. Craisins and pears - my fruit in savoury heart is beating with delight! It sounds amazing! I think this recipe really has potential - all I have to do is find an appropriate pumpkin.

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  19. Stuffed with everything in the fridge sounds about right! I really like your stuffing and can't wait to try the pear and spinach versions myself. Your white pumpkin looks very Christmassy so it would look great served up for Christmas as well (does pumpkin season last that long?). Hope you can fit both the turkey and pumpkin in one oven, but if not, perhaps you and Nana can split the tasks between both your ovens?

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  20. All three versions sound wonderful! This is a dish that totally met my expectations and I can't wait to make it again. I agree with Maya above; the white pumpkin version would look great at the Christmas table.

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  21. These all look fabulous. Tricia, you are so right that this is autumn on a plate. I must have missed Dorie's bonne idee about the pear, but now I'll think of it as Tricia's bonne idee because it sounds great. Glad you BOTH liked this one for a change.

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  22. Your "takes" on this recipe and your thoughts about it were interesting. I want to try the pear, spinach, etc. combo. I also am going to use this recipe for Thanksgiving. It was yummy, wasn't it?

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  23. Great Job - love the everything in the refrigerator approach and the pear, spinach etc. sounds absolutely wonderful.

    Happy French Friday!

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  24. All of your photos look so great and your pumpkins look wonderful. I am glad to know that the recipe is just as good in the white pumpkin. I will have to try one of those next time. And I want to try the pear and craisins!

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  25. This was a winner at my house too. I mean, with all those yummy ingredients, how could it NOT be a hit! I too am chomping at the bit to try a few of Dorie's suggestions and now your post has me even more excited. Those pears sound delicious! Would love to be able to add this to the Thanksgiving table but I don't think my little oven can handle any more.

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  26. Tricia, both of your pumpkins look adorable! I especially love the burnished colour of the pie pumpkin post-baking. I'll have to try pear next time too.

    Nana, congrats on cutting your first pumpkin! Your idea of the leftover sounds great. I want to try it right now.

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  27. Your pumpkins all look delicious! I've made this twice already -- once with bread cubes, and once with rice. And we are adding it to the Thanksgiving table this year, too.

    I might try it again with a sweet bread pudding for the filling. With pumpkin pie spices, I think it will be really good.

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