Eating the Plates: Pumpkin & Apples

In honor of the great Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I would share a recipe from a book I found in my library -- a very interesting book about the food and manners of the pilgrims (citation information below). There were a number of tasty recipes included, but this one seemed particularly pleasant and appropriate for the season. I'm looking forward to trying it someday.

Whole Baked Pumpkin Stuffed with Apples
1 medium pumpkin
6 small red apples
vegetable oil
maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Wash and dry the pumpkin. Carve a circle around the stem and open the pumpkin. Remove the seeds and pulp (roasted seeds are awfully good!). Brush the outside of the pumpkin with vegetable oil.
3. Wash and dry the apples. Core them. Spoon a teaspoon of maple syrup into each apple, then place the apples upright inside the pumpkin. Spoon two teaspoons of maple syrup over the apples. Replace the pumpkin top.
4. Put the pumpkin on the prepared cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Bake until the pumpkin and the apples are tender (1.5-2 hours).
5. When the pumpkin is done, remove from the oven. Remove the top and take out the apples. Slice the pumpkin into 6 slices. Serve the pumpkin with a baked apple and maple syrup.

If you get around to trying this recipe, let me know -- I'd love to know how it turns out.

Penner, Lucille Recht. Eating the Plates: a Pilgrim Book of Food and Manners. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991.