Wild Rice and Sausage Stuffed Pumpkin

Stuffed pumpkins rock!  I'm definitely one of those annoying people that look forward to everything-pumpkin in the fall.  I'd never stuffed a pumpkin until a few years ago and it's become one of my most favourite autumn dishes.

We have a recipe for a sweet Apple and Oats Stuffed Pumpkin, but we also enjoy doing savoury stuffed pumpkins, so I thought it was time to get a recipe up!  This stuffed pumpkin was so delicious.  While I chose wild rice and sausage, you can really put anything you like in one!  Change up the meat and use chicken or shredded beef.  Change up the grain and use barley or white rice.  Add nuts - try dried apricots instead of cranberries.  Try a theme - Mexican, Italian, Moroccan, Chinese...

How about The Hollowpoints - The Sickness.  -jen

WILD RICE AND SAUSAGE STUFFED PUMPKIN
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Bake Time:  60 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy to Medium
Serves:  about 6

• 1 pie pumpkin (like a Sugar Pumpkin or a Winter Luxury)
• 5 links maple sausage 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil + 2 teaspoons, melted
• 1 small carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced (about 3/4 cups)
• 1 large stalks of celery, diced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 small green pepper or poblano, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 apple, diced (like a Gala or Fuji) (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced (1 tbsp)
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced (1 tbsp)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (brown sugar would be a suitable substitute) + 1 teaspoon
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  + 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper + a pinch
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder + 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage + 1/4 teaspoon
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1-2 cups cooked wild rice (recipe below)  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Like carving a jack-o-lantern, cut the top of your pumpkin off and scoop the inside and the base of the lid clean.  (Save your seeds and make Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds!)   Discard the insides, keep your lid!  Make sure you get all those stringy pieces out... it's worth the extra effort to make it totally scraped clean.  Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausages through.  Set aside.  In same skillet with the remaining sausage fat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and the carrots, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then add the onion, celery, and green pepper.  Saute about 5 minutes, until vegetables become tender.  Add the apples, garlic, ginger, maple syrup, cranberries, salt, pepper, curry powder, sage, cinnamon, marjoram, and red pepper flake.  Cook another 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.

Once cool, dice the sausages and add the sausage and the rice to the vegetable mixture.  Add 2 teaspoons of melted coconut oil, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1/4 tsp salt, pinch of pepper, 1/4 tsp curry powder and 1/4 tsp of sage to the inside of the pumpkin, .  Using your hands, massage oil and seasonings all over the inside of the pumpkin, as well as on the bottom of the lid. 

Stuff the pumpkin completely full with the stuffing.  Place the lid back on the pumpkin and place on a sheet
pan.  Cook at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour.  A sharp knife should slide easily through the skin and the flesh if the pumpkin is cooked thoroughly.  Remove and let rest for 5 minutes.

Place on a serving tray.  Remove lid.  Slice wedges and serve.  Don't forget to slice the pumpkin meat off of the lid, too!

If you have leftover stuffing you can serve it on the table with your stuffed pumpkin for folks who want extra.  You can make an egg scramble out of it (which we did!) or use it as a side dish for your dinner the next evening.

WILD RICE
Cook Time:  45-60 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 2 cups

• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage (optional)

In a large sauce pan, combine rice, broth and sage.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 45 minutes and check.  You'll want about half of the kernels to split open (they'll look lighter in colour)... could take up to 60 minutes.  If there's any remaining liquid, drain it off.  Fluff with a fork.

Note:  Wild rice will triple or quadruple once cooked.  1 cup may yield 3.5 - 4 cups.

Copycat KFC Chicken with Waffles

Chicken and waffles have always had a magical place in my heart and stomach.  Jen had seen some show not too long ago where the guy, Todd Wilbur, tried to discern the secret blend of herbs and spices in the KFC Original Recipe chicken by deconstructing the finished product.  He apparently got incredibly close so we decided to give it a go, as I could think of no better tasting chicken to go with waffles and maple syrup (my favorite topping for the dish)!  We didn't have everything his blend called for in terms of the tellicherry and the savory so we made a few substitutions but the finished product was juicy and tasted amazing.  The waffles were Jen's creation and were golden and crispy with a little cornmeal crunch that was perfect.

Note: This is not health food.  No one should in any way mistake this for a low fat, low carb, low sugar, light meal.  This seasoning blend contains MSG, commonly known as Accent, and though it's a small amount some folks are particular about not consuming MSG.  Also, this is fried chicken.  You'll need a deep fryer or a large dutch oven and some frying oil.

Was in an old school punk mood so I went with some Circle Jerks "Wonderful" as that is exactly how I felt about this dish.  Wonderful! - justin

Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves:  4
Level: Easy

BRINE

The recipe called for a brine which I will include here but I didn't use it.  I had a quart of my own brine left over from a previous recipe and it worked out just fine!

• 8 cups water
• 1/3 cup salt
• 1 tbsp Accent (MSG)

Dissolve the salt and Accent in the water and add chicken for at least 2 hours.  Chicken can be left to brine for as long as 24 hours in the fridge.  Remove from brine, rinse, and pat dry.

BREADING

• 9 oz all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Accent (MSG)
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground tarragon
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground marjoram
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag and shake thoroughly to mix.

Jen's Note: After the chicken was so awesome due to the seasoning, I made a double batch (minus the flour) just to keep on the counter as an awesome seasoning salt! 

DREDGE

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk

Beat eggs in a large bowl and stir in the milk.

Heat oil or deep fryer to 300 degrees.  When oil is hot, dredge each piece of chicken in the egg mix and cover with breading.  Make sure it is well coated and set aside for 5 minutes.  Shake off any excess breading and fry 2-4 pieces at a time or whatever your fryer may allow.  Don't crowd the chicken though.  Fry for 18-20 minutes or until the chicken becomes golden brown.  Drain on a rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.  Chicken can be kept in a 200 degree oven to maintain temp until served.

WAFFLES

• 1-1/2 cups all purpose four
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 1-3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl and lightly whisk the eggs, milk and oil in a separate bowl.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients, whisking until just mixed together.  Let sit for 10 minutes before cooking as per your waffle maker's instructions (ours cooked about 7 minutes).

Serve chicken with waffles and cover with a generous splash of real maple syrup and you have achieved comfort food!

Death By Chocolate Bacon Brownies

I'm no philosopher, but I truly believe there are two things that can bring people together in a beautiful, happy way: weed and bacon.  And you could use both in this recipe - it does use 3 sticks of butter, which would be a hell of a lot of bang butter... I'm just sayin'.

However, this recipe isn't about pot!  It's about the beauty of bacon and rock, and how it connected us with a guy named Mike in a kick ass band called Death By Stereo, whom we soon discovered loved food and punk rock (and bacon!) as much as we do.  We spoke of collaborating on our mutual art forms, but due to the 14 hours distance between us and the expenses, we had to settle for combining ideas instead for THE ULTIMATE AWESOME DESSERT!!!

It seems like a lot of death in the kitchen... Death By Stereo... Cooking To Die For... but then, six eggs, 3 sticks of butter, and a pound each of bacon and chocolate will probably bring all of us death, so it's apropos. 

And so without further ado, I present you with an idea brought forth by Mike Cambra, and put into action with a few twists by me... Death By Chocolate Bacon Brownies.  While you salivate over the recipe, you can listen to DBS' "Bet Against Me, You Lose", from their first album. -jen

Don't forget you can find Cooking To Die For on Facebook too!

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE BACON BROWNIES

• 3 sticks (1.5 cups) butter
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1+ 2/3 cup flour
• cooking spray
• 1 pound bacon
• 2 tablespoons 100% maple syrup
• chocolate ganache (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter and bitter sweet chocolate until combined and smooth.  Set aside to cool for a moment.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until combined.  Add the cooled chocolate mixture.  Then fold in flour.  Coat a 9x11 baking dish generously with cooking spray.  Pour in brownie mix and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Center may be a little gooey still.

While brownies are baking, cut bacon slices in half length-wise, to create long strips.  Then dice into small 1/2" squares.  Cook in skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crispy (10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally).  For the last two minutes, stir in maple syrup (no need to drain the fat first).  Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon onto a plate (not a napkin, it'll stick).

After brownies have cooled, sprinkle candied bacon bits over the entire pan of brownies.  If bacon has cooled and clumped, just microwave for 10-15 seconds until it's warm and loose again.  Then cover bacon with chocolate ganache and allow ganache to firm up a little before cutting and serving brownies.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Cook all ingredients over a double boiler until smooth, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.