This Roast Pumpkin with Cheese “Fondue” is an old Gourmet magazine recipe that I’d wanted to try for years. Last year, I finally did it. I used a giant squash called a Cheese Pumpkin at the suggestion of a local farmstand. It was huge! Somewhere between 15 and 21 pounds. Last year I was serving 19, so I figured go big or go home. I scaled the Roast Pumpkin with Cheese “Fondue” recipe up by about 2.5. It worked perfectly. Because the squash variety the farmer picked has a nice skin that’s good at holding its form, the squash stayed intact, even as I sliced it. The result was miraculous really. I could not believe the gorgeous, perfect pie slices that transferred onto the plates with ease. I served it with a very simple bitter green salad that was a nice contrast to the richness of the pumpkin. It was paired with a dry riesling and was by far the most dramatic dish of Thanksgiving 2012. I really didn’t alter the recipe at all, other than to scale up. Also, I’ve included some notes on the cheese and you should consider carefully how to pick a pumpkin. But other than that, this was just a beautiful execution of a wonderful Gourmet recipe. Also, full disclosure, I put my sister in charge of this one. She scooped, toasted bread and filled the pumpkin for me. So perhaps she was the magic. 
- 7 ounces of baguette; cut into ½ -inch slices
- 1 7-lb orange pumpkin
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (the more aged the better- spend a little here)
- 6 oz coarsely grated Emmentaler (this is a young gruyère- because it’s less aged, it’s cheaper)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- arugula
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- balsamic syrup
- Preheat oven to 450° F with rack in lower third.
- Toast baguette slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
- Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (3 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired).
- Season inside of pumpkin with ½ tsp salt.
- Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper in a bowl.
- Mix the cheeses in a separate bag (I used a ziploc) or bowl.
- Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and ½ cup cream mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese and cream until pumpkin is filled to about ½ inch from top.
- Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled roasting pan. In my case, I used a sheet pan since the pumpkin was so large.
- Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil.
- Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours. (I think mine took around 3 hours!).
- Slice and serve with the arugula salad.
- Thrifty/$pendy Tip: use more emmentaler, it will be cheaper, but really buy the best for the Gruyère. And if you want to make it a bit healthier, you can definitely use milk instead of cream.
So Do I really leave the oven at 450 when it’s time to cook the entire pumpkin? I don’t reduce the heat after toasting the bread?
Sorry for the slow response. I really did do the entire recipe at 450. I hop you try this, it’s fabulous!