An All-Star Thanksgiving

Wish you could cook like America’s top chefs on Thanksgiving?  You can come pretty close.   New York’s most talented chefs have graciously share their best holiday recipes with us.  From turkey to stuffing and dessert, we’ve Thanksgiving covered.  First up…

Stuffed Pumpkin with Swiss Chard
By Chef Daniel Boulud – adapted from a recipe prepared by his mother,  Marie
(Serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

• 1 cheese pumpkin, approximately 10-12 pounds
• 1 kabocha squash (or butternut squash)
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 small loaf sourdough bread
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 3/4 lb. apple wood smoked bacon, cut into match sticks
• 1/2  cup toasted and chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 bunch chives, sliced
• 1 lb.  Gruyere cheese, grated
• 5 cups half and half
• 4 tsp. Daniel Boulud’s Thanksgiving Spice blend
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Slice the kabocha squash in half, remove the seeds, rub the inside with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lie the squash flesh side down on a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until cooked through (check with the tip of a paring knife).

Meanwhile, turn  the cheese pumpkin upside down, and with a small serrated paring knife, remove a circular cap wide enough to later fill the pumpkin with stuffing (at least 8 inches in diameter). Cut the sourdough bread into 1 inch thick slices and toast. Lightly rub the toasted bread with the clove of garlic. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper-towel lined plate and set aside. When the cooked kabocha squash is cool enough to handle, remove the flesh with a spoon and cut into a rough dice. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the half and half with 1 tea spoon of Thanksgiving Spice Blend, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the inside of the cheese pumpkin with salt, pepper and the remaining Thanksgiving Spice Blend. Begin filling the pumpkin starting with a layer of bread, then half of the bacon, half of the pecans, half of the pumpkin seeds, half of the chives, and half of the cheese. Pour in about half of the half and half mixture and lightly press down. Repeat with remaining filling ingredients to reach the top of the pumpkin. Pour in the remainder of the half and half to reach the top of the

pumpkin. Return the cap to the pumpkin and transfer onto a aluminum foil lined baking tray. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the cheese pumpkin is cooked though. Serve warm, scooping a bit of the cheese pumpkin from the sides along with the filling.