Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

Pumpkin_Man wrote: If I can manage it, I will try to grow some potted pumpkins in my kitchen, but that's only a maybe. I would love to have at least one good jack o'lantern that I grew myself for Halloween.

Mike

Wouldn't it break your heart though to slice and dice the little guy? Especially if it's a perfect pumpkin?

Usually you don't cook with the kind of pumpkins you grow for jack-o-lanterns. The small, sweet pie pumpkins are best for cooking. (Of course, you could grow that kind and carve a mini-jack-o-lantern from it).

Cooking with pumpkin is very similar to cooking with any other type of squash. First, you halve it and seed it and place it face down, in a pan of shallow water. Bake it on 300 or 350 for a while, maybe 30 minutes, maybe an hour, until it is tender when pricked with a fork. The pulp will get tender, so you can scoop it out from the skin. Then you can use it in whatever recipe you like, just like canned pumpkin.