Candy Decorated Pumpkin

With Antonio Bettencourt

Are you the type that is afraid to decorate pumpkins because you consider it messy or even dangerous? There are still options for you to enjoy this creative activity with your kids. No-carve pumpkin decorating ideas are kid-safe, creative, and will get your kids excited about pumpkin decorating without all the mess.

What could be more fun for a kid than to decorate a pumpkin with candy? Not only will they be able to eat some of the decorations as you put the pumpkin together but there is the chance for them to learn how to transform a plain pumpkin into a character.

In this video Chef Antonio Bettencourt of 62 Restaurant and Wine Bar decided to make a “goofy little witch” with his kids - Marco and Serena. First you make the hat by cutting out a hole in the center of a round piece of paper. Next outline the facial features with a pencil. You then use a candy corn for her nose, pipe cleaners and a Dot candy for each eye and black licorice for her hair. For the mouth you use small white marshmallows for her teeth and a red pipe cleaner for the tongue.

Just remember to tell the kids not to take the candy off of the pumpkin because it will have glue on it. You can put a bowl of candy next to it to avoid the temptation.This video was filmed in the Kitchen Showroom at the Building Center in Gloucester, MA. You can obtain more information at their web site; www.bcgloucester.com

Ingredients

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds (cleaned and raw)
salt
oil
seasonings (i.e. garlic, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, allspice)

Instructions

1. Boil pumpkin seeds in salted water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Place seeds in oiled baking sheet and season as desired.
3. Roast in a 250 degree F. oven for about one hour, stirring two or three times.

Recipe courtesy of Tony Bettencourt, 62 Restaurant and Wine Bar, 2011.

Chef Antonio Bettencourt's training started at a young age. The passion for cooking was developed while helping prepare dinner at his mother's side each night and on holidays. Family trips to Brazil opened Tony's eyes to the relationship culture and geography have on food. The flavors and colors were something he had never experienced before and something the future chef would not forget. 

After high school Tony worked as a waiter at a local restaurant in Peabody where he learned the crucial details of running the front of the house, bartending, bussing and hosting. While at the restaurant he would watch the kitchen intently and try to soak in as much as possible, always asking questions and then going home and practicing what he had learned. One busy evening Tony was asked to jump in on the hot line and help on one of the stations and from then on became one of the chef’s regular fill-ins. 

After  a six year detour, Tony could not stop thinking about the memories of cooking and of the adrenaline of the kitchen and decided to go to cooking school. He studied at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Cambridge, MA. under the watchful gaze of school director, Roberta Dowling.Tony graduated with high honors in June of 2001. 

In October of 2001, Bettencourt went on to Metro Brasserie and trained under chef Amanda Lydon, focusing on regional French cuisine. He then followed chef Lydon to Upstairs on the Square to serve as the executive sous chef to both Amanda Lydon and Susan Regis. 

Chef Bettencourt opened Tomasso Trattoria and Enoteca in Southborough, MA in October of 2004. His honest, regional Italian cooking helped Tomasso become the premier Italian restaurant in Metrowest. With Antonio at the helm the restaurant earned a Best of Boston award from Boston Magazine and also Best of the New from the Boston Globe. Chef Tony was invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Awards in New York and to teach at the Italian Culinary Institute. 

With the opening of 62 Restaurant & Wine Bar, Tony realized his dream of owning his own restaurant. Tony opened 62, with his wife Valerie, in February of 2008 in Salem, MA. Here he brings his extensive training in both regional French and Italian cuisines to the North Shore. Since opening, 62 has been awarded a Best of the New by the Boston Globe and a Best of the North Shore by North Shore Magazine. The menu at 62 changes frequently as Chef Bettencourt and his team continually refine their techniques and dishes in order to exceed every guests expectations.