Yesterday, I finally got to make my favorite fall meal. My grandma is the one I credit this culinary masterpiece GOODNESS with, but it has since become a favorite in my family, and I've done my utmost to bring every roommate I've ever had over to the enlightened side.
So now, in celebration of my happiness of yesterday, here's a little food story. With instructions for creation, if desired. Also, we watched Pirates of Penzance while we waited and I'm positively positive that only added to my sheer joy. Kevin Kline is my all-time favorite, and Gilbert & Sullivan are genius in comic opera form. Don't knock it 'til you try it, and be prepared to listen and laugh, laugh, laugh. Here's a tiny clip for you:
Okay, moving on to pumpkin dinner goodness.
How to partake of fall goodness, pre-Pilgrims and Indians style:
Purchase a pumpkin about the size of the bowl you would use to serve however many you're serving. To serve four of us last night, I bought one about the size of a child's bowling ball, and we had some leftovers. Just remember, the bigger the pumpkin, the longer it will have to cook.
Wash off the pumpkin and put it in a preheated oven at 450. You'll cut it open and clean it out pretty soon, but not yet.
Meanwhile, cook a package of hamburger (or turkey burger) and simultaneously put about two cups of rice on to cook.
Add onions, celery salt, and onion powder to the meat while it's cooking. You can add garlic in as well unless you're completely opposed. I have used dehydrated onions and fresh onions, and both are just as good. As soon as the meat starts to brown, lightly cover the meat in Worcestershire sauce, and allow it to keep cooking, turning the heat down lower so it will take in the flavor a little more as it cooks. After the heat is lower, put about 2T of brown sugar in the meat and mix it in. A dash of sage is also REALLY good in this, I just usually don't have it on hand, but it's SO good. If you haven't caught on by now, the meat is the focus here. Get as much fall flavor in there as possible, and let it simmer. If you cook it too high, the sugar will start for form a sort of sticky syrup and that's going a little far. If it's too thick, add more Worcestershire sauce, and if it's too liquidy, let it cook out a bit.
At this point, pull the pumpkin out of the oven, and carefully (with a hot pad on the stem) cut it open and hollow it out. You can hollow it out before you start cooking it, but I've found this way to be easier to clean it out and keep it cooking while you prepare all the other ingredients. Your end goal with this pumpkin is to have it completely cooked through so the sides will scrape out with the rice mixture in the end.
Combine the meat and rice in a bowl with two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup and 3-4 cups of shredded cheese. (I've used all cheddar before, but half cheddar, half smoked gouda is to DIE for.) The cheese is your choice. Combine everything together, and scoop as much as possible into the pumpkin. Don't be afraid to fill it all the way to the top. Put the pumpkin lid back on, and put the whole thing back in the oven.
The oven should still be at 450 at this point, but depending on your oven, you'll want to watch it and turn it down if necessary. It should cook like this for about 60-80 minutes. About halfway through, I usually turn the oven down to 350, especially if the top is burning. It's just fine for the outside of the pumpkin to get pretty dark.
I'll check on it every 30 min or so and just poke it with a fork to assess the done-ness of the pumpkin. :) Once it's done, take it out, and carefully cut a jack-o-lantern face in the skin of the pumpkin. (it should peel off easily by now) Put the finished product on a serving plate/platter, and voila! Culinary masterpiece!
Serve with salt and pepper, and even though it might sound weird, MAPLE SYRUP. Trust me on this one, especially if you like sweet and salty combos. It's to die for. When you scoop the rice/hamburger mixture out of the pumpkin, make sure to scrape pumpkin out with it. That's the whole point.
Once you're done eating all this fall goodness, if you happen to have leftovers, just peel the skin off the pumpkin and thank yourself the next day when you have the most delicious leftovers before Thanksgiving. Ever.
The end. And you're welcome. Also, I'm sorry I cook this way and the recipe below is somewhat less than specific. But that's part of the adventure here...make it the way you like it. That way you can't tell me it's too salty or too sweet. You have to taste as you go. It's basically required.
1 child-sized bowling ball pumpkin
2 cups cooked rice
1 package hamburger or turkey burger
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2-4 cups of cheddar/smoked gouda cheese
Worcestershire Sauce
2 T brown sugar
celery salt
Onions (dehydrated or fresh minced)
onion powder
salt and pepper
maple syrup
1 knife for cutting and slicing and playing Joker on the pumpkin
1 spoon for scraping out innards.
