Baked Pumpkin and Rice

5 pounds of pumpkin or small winter squash
3 3/4 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 small tart apples, cored and diced
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons apple cider
1/4 cup golden raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut top off pumpkin top. Scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers and discard. Place the pumpkin, with the top next to it, on a baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven until the inside of the pumpkin is tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and keep warm, covering the top of the pumpkin with foil to prevent the flesh from drying out.

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the brown and wild rice and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until most of the water has been absorbed, about 50 minutes. 

Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the onions and sauté until golden. Add the apples, pecans, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the apple cider and sauté for 5 more minutes. Then add the raisins and rice and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

Spoon the rice into the pumpkin and cover with the baked top. When serving, scoop out pumpkin flesh along with the pilaf.