Soup in a Pumpkin

SOUP IN A PUMPKIN

10-16 lb. pumpkin
Butter
2 ½ c fresh white bread crumbs
½ tsp. pepper
2 c minced onion
1/2 c butter
1 Tbsp. celery seed
1/2 c. grated Swiss cheese
2 qts. Chicken stock
½ tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
¼ c parsley
1 c grated cheddar cheese

Cut lid off pumpkin. Remove seeds. Rub inside of lid with butter. Bake the bread crumbs in oven on a cookie sheet at 350 for 15 min. Sauté onions until tender. Add bread crumbs and celery seed and stir until covered completely and cook for 3 min. Pour into prepared pumpkin. Add cheeses, stock, and remaining seasonings. Place lid on the pumpkin, place the pumpkin on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 1 ½ hours, until pumpkin has softened. Bring the cream to a simmer then add to pumpkin. When serving, scrape the sides of the pumpkin with the ladle so that bits of pumpkin will be added to the soup. Serve with hot rolls and green salad. Makes 8-10 servings

Haylee’s Note:

One of my friends made this soup for me a long time ago, and I thought it was the BEST thing I had EVER had. After a few years, I tracked her down and got the recipe. I don’t know if I didn’t follow the recipe well, or if I just had pregnancy stomach, or if it just wasn’t as good as I remembered, but this recipe was only ok to me. However, I took the leftovers the next day, put it in the blender and tweaked it a little, and I LOVED it the second day. So, maybe play around with this one, and let me know what you think!