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1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

1¼ cups boiling water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped (about 2½ cups)

1½ pounds cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered, depending on size

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped roasted garlic (page 392)

1 tablespoon truffle oil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

¾ cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice

1 cup mascarpone

1 cup heavy cream

4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (1 cup)

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 pumpkin (flat rather than round and at least 12 pounds), with a stem

8 ounces Italian fontina cheese, shredded (2 cups)

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in the boiling water in a medium bowl until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain, retaining the soaking liquid, and chop coarsely.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the cremini mushrooms and rosemary, and sauté until the mushrooms lose their raw look. Remove from the heat and stir in the roasted garlic, truffle oil, reserved soaked mushrooms, salt, and pepper; set aside.

3. Combine the reserved mushroom soaking liquid with enough water to measure 3 cups. Bring to a boil in a large saucepan, and add a big pinch of kosher salt and the rice. Boil until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, and mix the rice with the mascarpone, cream, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and nutmeg. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper; set aside.

4. Heat the grill as directed.

5. Remove the stem end from the pumpkin and clean the interior cavity of seeds and pulp, just as you would if you were preparing to carve it as a jack-o’-lantern. Using a big spoon, scrape the flesh from the inside of the top half of the pumpkin, reducing its thickness by about half. Allow the scraped flesh to collect on the bottom, which will help the whole pumpkin roast more evenly. Cut a slice from the interior of the pumpkin’s lid, reducing its thickness by half, and place the slice in the pumpkin, on the bottom.

6. Set the pumpkin on a sheet of heavy-duty foil folded in fourths to make a square large enough to cradle the bottom of the pumpkin. Season the interior of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and scatter half of the fontina over the bottom. Fill the pumpkin with alternating layers of rice mixture and mushrooms, ending with mushrooms. Top with the remaining fontina. Put the lid on the pumpkin and wrap the whole thing, including the folded foil base, in 2 layers of heavy-duty foil.

7. Put the whole thing on the grill away from the heat, cover, and cook until the pumpkin is tender to the touch, about 1½ hours. If your grill has a temperature gauge, it should stay at around 350°F. If using charcoal or wood, you may have to replenish the coals after the first hour.

8. Remove the pumpkin and set it on a large platter; let rest for 10 minutes. Remove the foil from the top and sides of the pumpkin, tearing it around the base so that the pumpkin is still resting on foil but excess foil doesn’t show. Remove the lid and serve portions of the rice and mushrooms along with pumpkin flesh scraped from the interior walls.

Crown Roast of Lamb Embedded with Figs and Forest Herbs

The gustatory folly known as crown roast, made by grafting two or more racks in a ring, forcing the ribs to arch up and out like the spikes of a crown, is more impressive than it is difficult, and it is one of the few grand celebratory presentations that feed a crowd and spend less than an hour roasting. The speedy cooking time is due to its form. Because of the center hole, heat is able to reach all sides of the meat, so regardless of how many racks you use to form the crown, the roast never takes much longer to cook than a single rack would. The only thing that will slow it down is stuffing the center, which blocks the heat circulation. For that reason we recommend grilling the stuffing around the roast and filling the center just before you bring it to the table.

TIMING

Prep: 30