Pumpkin Stencil Carving

With Antonio Bettencourt

There are few things more interesting than to see all of the different designs that people are using for decorating their pumpkins. Using stencils makes it easy to create a professional looking pumpkin carving even if you have limited to no artistic ability.

There are hundreds of tracing designs available for pumpkin carving at no cost on various websites. Here are a few tips on how to use a template.
- Clean the pumpkin and wipe the outer surface clean.
- When cutting the top, cut off the lid of the pumpkin at an angle to prevent the top from falling in.
- You will need to tape the desired template to the best side of your pumpkin. If you have trouble making it fit, you can cut small slits in the edges of the template paper to help ease it around the curved surface.
- Remember that templates use the negative space to create the design so you will be cutting away the darker areas.
- Cut away the black or negative space along pierced lines.
- You can help preserve a pumpkin by soaking it for several hours and letting it dry out.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.