Hello Everyone, Whew… it has been a busy couple of months. Work has been ramping up and has made it difficult for me to blog. Do not fret, I have a huge back log of yummy recipe’s and will be sharing with you very soon.

Since Thanksgiving is just a few days away, I thought I would post this yummy show stopper.  If you are scrambling to come up with an fun idea, this appetizer will “WOW” your guest.

This hybrid recipe is a little different from others out there. The pumpkin fondue marries the best of gruyere onion soup and delectable roasted pumpkin meat. Did I forget to mention that you will kill two birds with one stone – gourmet taste + gourmet presentation?

Ingredients:

1 Small Pumpkin (4lbs give or take)

1 ¼ cup of shredded Emmental cheese (swiss)

1 ¼ cup of shredded Gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 cup of your favorite caramelized onion soup

½ cup of heavy cream

Pinch of nutmeg

Dash of brandy – or two. (optional)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions-

• Preheat oven to 400
• Cut a loaf of sourdough bread into half length-wise and cut into ½” slices
• Arrange bread on a baking sheet and toast until light golden brown. (5-8 minutes)
• Remove the top of the pumpkin; scrape seeds and any loose hanging bits out of the pumpkin and clean off top. (reserve pumpkin seeds for yummy roasted snack)
• In a medium pot melt butter and add 1 cup of your favorite onion soup. Heat on low.
• Combine cold cream and cornstarch. Stir into soup pot slowly and stir.
• Heat, do not let it boil.
• Stir in cheese a little at a time once all contents in pot is warmed, slowly increase heat as you gradually add cheese (make sure it doesn’t boil) ( I sometimes add laughing cow cheese or cream cheese to help the texture)
• Once all the cheese is added, stir until smooth, add nutmeg & brandy (brandy is optional). Take off heat.
• Rub a dash of salt inside of the pumpkin and rub olive oil on the outside.
• Place pumpkin on baking dish. (Preferably the one that you will be serving the pumpkin on. After baking the pumpkin, the pumpkin becomes fragile and may tear in the process of moving it. )
• Layer the inside of the pumpkin with toasted bread followed by the fondue. Once filled; make sure that you will be able to put the top of the pumpkin on without it overflowing.
• Wrap the sides of the pumpkin with tinfoil and use a separate sheet of foil to cover the top.
• After baking for 35 minutes, remove the top of the pumpkin and let it brown for 10-15 minutes.
• The fondue should be puffed and the meat inside the pumpkin should be tender.
• Enjoy with apples, bread and veggies. Make sure to scoop out pieces of tender pumpkin with the fondue.