Mmmmm ... can't wait to try this recipe!
Last year my church hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the disadvantaged. They asked everyone to donate desserts, so I asked our local gourmet grocer if he had any use for the giant box of leftover pumpkins which had frozen solid over the weekend and they agreed to donate them for the cause (7 giant pumpkins for free). I took them all home, rinsed them, sliced them in half, scooped out the seeds, and spent the next 3 days processing pumpkins into pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin nut bars for the feast. I made 3 pies, 6 loaves of pumpkin bread, and 30 dozen pumpkin nut bars before I topped out what the church needed and -still- had lots of pumpkin left over.
No problem, I then pureed the rest, carefully measured out 2 cups into a ziploc freezer bag, labeled everything with Sharpie marker, and froze another (16) 2-cup portions (equal to 16 cans of overpriced puree). I averaged 7-9 cups of pumpkin puree per medium Jack-o-lantern sized pumpkin. I also toasted all the pumpkin seeds and my kids snarfed them down in lieu of junk food over the next few weeks.
Oh ... and I made sure to go back and tell our generous pumpkin donor that his lost pumpkin sales went to a very good cause (our church fed 280 people that Thanksgiving).
Some people say Jack-O-Lantern sized pumpkins are too stringy to eat, but they're mistaken. They -are- less sweet than those tiny sugar pumpkins, but if you're baking you can compensate by using a tablespoon or two more sugar or molasses. If using it first as a Jack-O-Lantern, wait to carve it until Halloween day so the slugs don't move in. Use a flashlight instead of a candle to avoid scorched innards (if you use a candle, you can still eat it, but you lose more flesh). As soon as the last trick-or-treater leaves, turn off your lights and bring Jack indoors. Slice it in half and remove the pulp (if you haven't yet done this) for pumpkin seeds. Place it upside-down on a large baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours (until the skin gets tough and crispy and the center of the pulp begins to cave away from the shell). You will likely only be able to fit only one half at a time in your oven. While it's still hot, carefully peel the hard shell away from the flesh (be careful ... don't burn yourself!)
Cut into 2-3" cubes and stick in a colander over a bowl to drain until it stops throwing off excess steam. The pumpkin should still be warm, but not enough to burn your hands. If you baked a rather large pumpkin, you'll want to further remove excess water by "wringing" each cube into the bowl until the water no longer runs freely as if you were wringing out a cloth dish rag. Throw the wrung cubes into a food processor and puree on high until good and smooth. Use as usual pumpkin puree in any recipe, or measure out in 2-cup portions and freeze in a ziploc bag.
If you haven't carved your pumpkin (and it hasn't frozen) and would rather store it until eating it, pumpkin stores very well in a cool, dry area of your house for up to 3 months and it is one of the few vegetables that improves with aging (it gets sweeter and nuttier). Store in a cool (50 degree) dark, dry (not too humid) place away from heat or moisture sources such as your boiler or a nearby bathroom. We have a corner in our basement which does well. Space out on a wooden shelf so they're not touching. I was taught to put a handful of dry, clean oak leaves underneath each pumpkin on the shelf so air circulates. Check every few weeks, lightly "knocking" on the pumpkins to make sure they haven't developed soft spots (if so, use promptly). Pumpkins that still have the stem attached store better.
