Stuffed Pumpkin With Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

This is a beauty for your Thanksgiving holiday table. The ingredients for vanilla sauce are also listed.

• Ready In: 1 hr 25 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 3  lbs pumpkin
• 2  tablespoons butter or 2  tablespoons margarine, melted and divided
• 2  tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2  large eggs
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup butter or 1⁄2 cup margarine, melted
• 3⁄4 cup half-and-half
• 3⁄4 cup  chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 (16 ounce)  raisin bread, loaf cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1⁄2 cup fresh cranberries

• lemons vanilla sauce

• 1  vanilla bean, split
• 1  cup water
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 2  tablespoons cornstarch
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon butter or 1  tablespoon margarine
• 2  tablespoons  grated lemon rind
• 1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Cut off top of pumpkin, reserving lid with stem. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and pulp, and reserve for another use. Brush inside of pumpkin shell with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Top with lid.
2. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.
3. Brush inside of baked pumpkin shell with 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
4. Stir together eggs and next 6 ingredients; spoon pudding mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan.
5. Bake pumpkin and bread pudding at 350° for 25 minutes. Let pumpkin cool; spoon bread pudding evenly into pumpkin shell. Serve with Lemon-Vanilla Sauce.
6. Note: For individual servings, substitute 12 (1/2-pound) pumpkins. Scoop out seeds and pulp; sprinkle each pumpkin shell with 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon sugar, and bake with the bread pudding. (Do not prebake as with the larger pumpkin.) Spoon bread pudding evenly into baked pumpkin shells.
7. For lemon vanilla sauce: Cook vanilla bean, water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth and thickened.