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New-England-in-November Stuffed Pumpkins

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  • New-England-in-November Stuffed Pumpkins

    Tonight, I made some stuffed pumpkins as part of a pumpkin-themed contest for a cast iron cooking group that I belong to on Facebook. Considering the time of year and the snow that was gently falling outside, my goal was to achieve an autumny, New-Englandy kind of kind of end product, and I think I hit pretty close to the mark.

    Here are the components I used, based on my above-stated theme and our house meatloaf recipe; some of the ingredient amounts are "to taste," so adjust accordingly as you wish.

    Ron's "New-England-in-November" Stuffed Pumpkins
    • 4 sugar pumpkins, perhaps 7 to 8 inches in diameter (that's a guess)
    • 2 pounds lean ground beef
    • 1/2 to 3/4 pound thick-sliced maple-cured or apple-smoked bacon, diced into about 1-inch squares
    • 1 large onion, finely diced
    • 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
    • 2 eggs (I used 4, but I think that might have been over-kill)
    • 1 "large" can of Campbell's vegetable beef soup (not alphabet soup)
    • Worcestershire sauce to taste (maybe 2 tablespoons)
    • About half a bag of Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing crumbs and seasoning (give or take)
    • About 4 oz dried cranberries (more if you want)
    • 8 oz extra-sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, cut into cubes
    • Salt and pepper to taste (you probably won't need much salt - if any - because of the salt content of the other ingredients)


    Cook the bacon in a large-diameter (12- to 13-inch) cast-iron skillet over medium to medium-low heat until it is fairly-well rendered. Pour off most of the bacon fat, then add the diced onion and sauté it over medium heat until the pieces are translucent. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and stir it into the bacon and onions for a couple of minutes, then remove the skillet and allow the mixture to cool as you hollow out the pumpkins, reserving the tops.

    For the stuffing, combine the ground beef, eggs, vegetable soup, Worcestershire sauce, stuffing mix and cranberries. Mix everything thoroughly by hand or with an old-fashioned, hand-held potato masher. By now, the bacon/onion/garlic mixture should be cooled enough to work it into the stuffing by hand until it is thoroughly incorporated. Add pepper to taste (and salt, if desired), then gently work in the cubes of cheddar cheese.

    Rub a little salt and pepper into the inside of the pumpkins, then fill them with the stuffing mixture. Set the tops on the pumpkins and place them into cast iron pans or Dutch ovens and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the pumpkins and stuffing are cooked thoroughly. Remove from the oven,and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the tops, cut the pumpkins vertically into 4 wedges each and serve.
    And the photos - here we are, straight out of the oven:



    The pumpkins looked really good - they were cooked throughout, and after about 10 minutes of resting were ready to cut:



    I'd say that the sight you see here speaks for itself:



    After cutting the pumpkins into wedges, they were ready to serve:



    We've definitely got some good stuff going on here, guys; the sweet, tender pumpkin was full of fall flavour on its own, but when the savory stuffing was added, things really went into overdrive. The full-bodied beef and onions, the sweet/tart cranberries, the melty-tangy cheddar cheese, and the smoky bacon all sang in perfect harmony, bringing images of autumn, New England and comforting warmth on a grey day. All that was missing was a Robert Frost poem.

    Try it - you'll like it!
    Last edited by TasunkaWitko; 11-11-2013, 12:14 AM.
    Fundamentals matter.



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  • #2
    Boy that looks good!
    I wonder how it would work with sausage or a mix of sausage?
    Mark
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    • #3
      brilliant - have some punky

      never seen sugar pumpkins over here - guess you could probably use another type of squash. But wouldn't look as good :-)
      Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
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      • #4
        Thanks, guys!

        Mark - sausage would indeed be good - probably better! I simply had beef this time around, so beef it was ~

        Alex - any squash would work for sure - or pumpkin, for that matter. I used these for their size so they would fit in the pans, but any size can work, as long as it can be hollowed out and stuffed.
        Fundamentals matter.



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        • #5
          Nice job! Almost too pretty to eat.

          Originally posted by curious aardvark View Post
          never seen sugar pumpkins over here - guess you could probably use another type of squash. But wouldn't look as good :-)
          We call them pie pumpkins around here.
          Becky
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          • #6
            thanks, becky ~ i was pretty impressed with how they turned out. i got to thinking a little bit of cheese on top, all brown from the oven, would have knocked it out of the park, but this was just about right, too!
            Fundamentals matter.



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            • #7
              Wow that looks like something awful good to eat! Rustic and sure looks tasty from here. I like the idea of using sausage as well, but I'm sure the beef was awesome too! Nicely done!
              Smokem if you got em

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              • #8
                Ron, do you think the extra renderings from sausage would become a problem inside the punkin shell?
                Mark
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                • #9
                  thanks much for the comments, guys; the beef was good, but the more i think about it, the more i think that this would rock with some sausage ~

                  mark, regarding the renderings, i think it would be okay - a person COULD cut a couple of small hole (maybe the diameter of a pencil) in the bottom, and the excess fat could run right out.... definitely worth a try!
                  Fundamentals matter.



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                  • #10
                    "Oh Magoo---You've Done it Again!!!"

                    Another Outstanding Job, Ron!!---------

                    Thanks,
                    Bear

                    On Edit: Points will come tomorrow-----Entirely too many Great posts lately!!!


                    Bear
                    Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
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                    • #11
                      hey john - thanks! glad to see you back, buddy ~ happy veterans day a day late, and thank you ~
                      Fundamentals matter.



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                      • #12
                        Very nice...a complement of flavor!
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