Recipe - Russian Stuffed Pumpkin

4 pound Pumpkin
1 One half cup Longgrain rice
2 lg Tart cooking apples (like
Granny Smith), peeled,
cored and minced
One half cup Golden raisins
One half cup Dried sour cherries
(available in specialty
food stores)
8 tablespoon (1 stick) unsalted butter,
melted
1 tablespoon Sugar or more to taste
Three fourths teaspoon Ground cinnamon
Salt to taste
One fourth cup Hot water

This spectacular stuffed pumpkin can be the centerpiece of your
Thanksgiving table. Pumpkin is stuffed with rice, apples, raisins and sour
cherries, then baked.

Cut the stem end of the pumpkin as if you were about to carve a jack
o'lantern. Set aside "lid". Remove insides of pumpkin and discard (or
save to roast and munch on). Using a grapefruit knife or melon baller,
scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin as much as you can without piercing the
skin. Chop flesh and set aside.

In lg saucepan, bring 3 qts of salted water to boil and dump in the rice.
Cook over high heat, covered until still a bit hard to the bite...about 15
minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In large bowl, combine, pumpkin, partially cooked rice, raisins, dried sour
cherries and melted butter. Season with sugar, salt and cinamon. Spoon
stuffing loosely into pumpkin, sprinkle with the hot water and put "lid" on
tightly. Place on baking sheet and bake till pumpkin is tender to a point
of a knife...about 2 hrs. Cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 8

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini