Baked Pumpkin Lafourche - Madewood Plantation

Pumpkin is one of the first vegetables given to the early colonists by the Native American Indians was pumpkin. In those days, the seeds were as important as the entire pumpkin. These seeds were the snack foods for the children. This candied pumpkin recipe could be therefore more American than apple pie. This particular recipe (Baked Pumpkin Lafourche - Madewood Plantation) comes from Chef John Folse  y'all may know him from the Food Network and his time on Iron Chef. Madewood  Plantation, known as Madewood, is a National Historic Landmark in Napoleonville, Louisiana. It was built for the Pugh family in 1845 and designed by architect Henry Howard and was the originally part of a sugar plantation.  It is now a tourist attraction and a bed and breakfast which  I believe Chef John Folse's company runs the B&B.

Prep Time 1 1/2 hours - Serves: 6-8)
Ingredients:
    1 large pumpkin or cushaw
    1/4 cup sugar
    1/2 cup melted butter
    3 large apples, diced (peeled or unpeeled your reference)
    1/2 cup Louisiana cane syrup

    1/2 cup honey
    cinnamon to taste
    nutmeg to taste
    allspice to taste
    1/2 cup raisins
    1/2 cup golden raisins
    1 ounce sherry
    marshmallows (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using a sharp butcher knife or cleaver, cut the pumpkin into three inch cubes, peeling on. Scoop out all of the seeds and stringy pulp from the cubes. In a two gallon stock pot, place pumpkin in enough water to cover by two inches. Add sugar, bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until pumpkin is tender to the touch. Remove from heat and strain one cup of poaching liquid. Cool pumpkin under cold running water. Using a paring knife or large spoon, scrape the softened pulp into a large mixing bowl. Once all the pulp has been removed, drain off excess water and set aside. In a heavy bottom black iron pot, melt butter over medium high heat. 
  Add apples and sauté two to three minutes. Add pumpkin, cane syrup, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Stir to blend all of the ingredients well. Add raisins and sherry and cook on medium high heat until mixture is heated thoroughly. Ladle a small amount of the poaching liquid as needed to keep the mixture moist. Once well blended, pour the mixture into an oven-proof casserole dish and top with marshmallows. Cover and bake twenty to thirty minutes or until slightly browned around the edges. Serve as a starch accompaniment to any entree or add three whole eggs and use as a pie or turnover filling.