Roast Stuffed Pumpkin and The Art of Mending

I just finished The Art of Mending, by Elizabeth Berg.  A novel and fine allegory on mending things rather than throwing them out.  Family members and friends particularly.  A woman makes quilts, and uses both new and old materials for her commissions.  She discovers the idea might also be transferred to seemingly hopeless people.  Berg delivers a well done bit of personal character growth, along with her story of a family coming together for an annual event, where tragedy faces them.  From the Publishers:

"It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the past?

Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness."

What all this has to do with pumpkins is your guess.  Well, the big family get together was at the State Fair, where of course, pumpkins are displayed, usually monstrous prize-winners .  And then I ran into this beautiful, though wee specimen.  Couldn't resist taking him home.  And finding a good recipe to stuff the little prize with.

Ruth Reichl, via Gourmet Today, came through once again, and I followed the recipe, as per, for once in my life.  Well except for using Gouda instead of Emmental with the Gruyere, which I did have.  Her recipe involved a 7 lb. pumpkin, while this was about a 1.25 pound Winter squash of some sort.  So the ingredients had to be cut down quite a bit, but perfect for the two of us.  Basically, you cut the top out, layer in your stuffing of bread, cream, cheese, etc., set the top back on and roast it.  Pretty simple and easy, with delicious results.  I roasted it for about 1.25 hrs. and it came out beautifully.  This little baby wins the prize for taste, texture and looks of any pumpkin, in my memory at least.  I want more of them.

This is a perfect main course, with fresh salad greens on the side, which I was able to pick from the garden: mizuna, arugula, lettuce, and endive.  My greens are enjoying our cool, rainy weather of the moment, more so than most of us people.  Cool is fine, but rain can be sometimes just a tad excessive.

I'll be sharing this post over at Beth Fish Reads for Weekend Cooking and with Simona of Briciole for her Novel Food event.  Be sure to stop by and check out all the good food and books.