Pumpkin Stew

Thanksgiving week has started! Its the best cooking week of the year, so I like to try a few new things with the traditional. Tonight, my sister and brother-in-law arrived at the beach with us, and I made an Argentinian Pumpkin Stew in a pumpkin shell with cracked pepper biscuits. It was the first time I made a stew inside the pumpkin, and I was disappointed that the pumpkin wasn't as tender as I'd hoped on the inside. Next time, I'll cook it less in the pot ahead and longer in the pumpkin. It looked great though - very festive. And the stew was incredible. It came from a recipe on cooks.com that my old violin teacher, Lynne Webster Sawyer, lead me to last year. As we give thanks this week, I'd like to include that I'm thankful Lynne is still in my life, that Lindsay and Scott are awesome and willing guinea pigs, and that I'm able to indulge in my love of cooking for a whole week with my family. Cheers!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1948,144178-239207,00.html

(PS - the only changes I made were using beef stock instead of broth for a more robust flavor and swapping the sherry for white wine.)