Personal Pumpkin Fondue

When I stumbled across this recipe for Roast Pumpkin with Cheese Fondue on epicurious I knew it was only a matter of time before I made it.  And today was just one of those gloomy London SAD inducing days that I'll probably see a lot of over the upcoming winter months.  So I knew it was a good time for one of those fattening, cheesy, heart-attack inducing recipes that I love.  Here is my recipe for personal pumpkin fondue for two.

Ingredients

• Two small baking pumpkins (mine were both 1.25 lbs)
• 10 oz heavy cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 5oz sharp cheddar (shredded)
• 2 cloves garlic
• Olive Oil
• 3 oz bread 

Preheat oven to 450 F / 220 C.  Chop up bread into 1/2 inch chunks and put on a baking sheet.  Toast in oven for 7 minutes.  Meanwhile, cut the lid off your pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits.  In a bowl, mix heavy cream with water, nutmeg, a pinch of salt and 2 cloves crushed garlic.  Season the inside of pumpkin with salt and pepper.  Then add a layer of breadcrumbs, some cheese, and cream mixture.  Keep layering until your pumpkin is full.  Put the lid back on your pumpkin and bake for 45 minutes.  

To eat this personal pumpkin just remove the lid and scrape the sides of the pumpkin with a spoon.  And bask in cheesy gooey goodness.