Dramatic Smoky Bacon and Pumpkin Bisque

Are you looking for a way to wow your family and friends this fall with a unique lunch entree?

For a delicious and dramatic autumn weekend luncheon why not try cooking up some Smoky Bacon and Pumpkin Bisque? This seasonally inspired bisque cooks right inside the shell of the pumpkin. Now how convenient is that?

A couple things to consider:

A. Make sure your pumpkin is a size that will be easy to manueuver in and out of your oven.

B. The filling inside the pumpkin will expand, so you will want to leave plenty of space at the top of the pumpkin so that the bisque does not ooze out.

C. Be very careful when you remove the baked pumpkin from the oven, it will be fragile.

Easy Step By Step Directions:

1. Wash your pumpkin.

2. Prepare your pumpkin by cutting off the top (lid) and scraping out all the seeds. Keep the lid! You will need it. Save the seeds for roasting.

3. Rinse out your pumpkin and place it on either a heavy duty baking tray or a roasting pan.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. On a cookie sheet toast bread slices that have been brushed will olive oil and fresh minced garlic.

6. In a separate bowl mix together cream, chicken broth, nutmeg, greek salt, lawry’s seasoning salt and green onions.

7. Arrange one layer of toasted garlic bread slices in the bottom of the pumpkin. Top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese.

8. Ladle a shallow layer of cream mixture over the cheese.

9. Repeat the process of layering garlic bread, shredded cheese, and the cream mixture until the pumpkin is about 3/4 full.

10. Replace the lid.

11. Bake for about two hours. Before serving the soup, scrape some of the inside pumpkin pulp into the bisque and top with cooked smoky bacon bites and chives.

12. For a pretty presentation, cover the outer section of the baking tray with greenery leaves, fresh veggies and or autumn flowers.

13. Serve with a crisp green salad.

Ingredients:

1 Pumpkin, 3 to 5 pounds

3 – 4 cups chicken stock

2 cups heavy cream

1 loaf of Cuban, Italian, or French bread

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tablespoons Fresh Minced Garlic

1/2 shredded cheese

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Greek Salt