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.

Pumpkin Molasses Spice Cookies

I'd just had a craving for something pumpkin.  I'd had a can of pumpkin just hanging around.  And I love molasses as a sweetener.  So I thought I'd give it a shot.  I'm not into baking a whole lot - it's not that I can't, it just doesn't interest me as much as cooking does.  With cooking, it's pretty easy to experiment and not mess things up.  I don't know quite enough about baking to experiment successfully all the time.  Like the other day, I thought I'd make some blondies with chocolate chips in 'em.  I had a pretty quick, basic brownie recipe that I'd used before and I thought, "Oh, I'll just discard the cocoa powder, make it the same, no problem."  What I didn't think about until they were half way done baking was that it was 1/2 a cup of dry ingredients I just tossed.  And... my blondies came out like chocolate chip cookie soaked in butter for a day.  However... the Pumpkin Molasses Spice Cookie experiment came out awesome!  I'd make these again any day.  I went a little heavy on the spices, because I really like to taste the spice in spiced cookies... if you're not into spice, I guess you could probably just decrease the quantities.

Pumpkin... Halloween... naturally, it brought me to a toss up between The Cramps and The Damned.  But these spicy cookies had way more drive, like The Damned, and so I went with them.  Everyone who knows The Damned knows "New Rose".  Maybe it's just me, but I never get tired of this song, no matter how much I hear it.  It's one of those wake-me-up-in-the-morning songs for me. -jen

PUMPKIN MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES

• 2.5 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 tablespoons butter, room temp
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup 100% maple syrup
• 3/4 cup pumpkin pure (100% pumpkin)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup coarse sugar, for rolling

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and black pepper.  Set aside.

Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.  Add the brown sugar, molasses and pumpkin until combined.  Scrape the sides and add the egg, beating until combined.  Slow mixer speed and add the dry ingredients, 1/3 of it at a time, combining well before additions.  Do not over-mix dough.  Dough will be soft and wet.

Spread out two large sheets of plastic wrap and divide the dough in half, one half on each sheet.  Fold up tight and freeze for 30-45 minutes, until firm, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Place sugar into shallow dish.  Roll dough into 1.5-2" diameter balls.  Roll balls into sugar to coat, and place onto cookie sheet, 2-3" apart.  Using the bottom of a glass, press dough balls into 1/4-1/2" thick cookies.


Bake one sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes until tops feel set and edges are starting to brown.  Remove from oven and slide parchment paper and cookies onto a cooling rack for about 5 minutes.

Makes 30-35 cookies.

Bacon Maple Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I decided to jump onto the Bacon Bandwagon.  Since there's no donut shop in my nearby area that carries a bacon maple donut, I had to improvise.  Pork and pineapple go together.  Pineapple and maple go together.  Maple and pork go together.  It's rich, but it's sweet and salty and delicious!  Loved it!  And how many cakes do you know of that include a pound of bacon?!  It's awesome.

It makes me think fondly of the Prodigal Son that used to be in Chicago.  Irish pub in the front, angry, dirty punk music in the back, and bottomless free baskets of deep fried bacon on Wednesday nights.  I think I actually saw more blood spilled in that venue than any other venue.  That's just what happens when you get crazy and mix bacon and punk rock!  Chaos and anarchy!

The last show I saw there was my friend Germ's band, The Rotten Fruits, shown in the video here!  You can find Germ with his new band, Modern Day Rippers!  If you're in the Chicago area, check 'em out!  It's always a good show! 

BACON MAPLE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

• 1 pound bacon
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened and divided
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 2 cups + 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup (Grade B if possible)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 1 & 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (rendered from bacon)
• 1 can pineapple slices
• Maraschino cherries
• non-stick cooking spray

Chop bacon into bits and cook until crisped over medium-high heat.  Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from pan and drain on papertowels.  Save 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Spray 9x13 cake pan with non-stick spray and then coat with flour.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until mixed.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 stick of butter and shortening and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add 2 cups of maple syrup and beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add egg yolks and egg, one at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk, 1/3 of each at a time.  Set aside

Melt 1 stick of butter and 2 tablespoons bacon fat over low heat.  Once melted, remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup maple syrup.  In floured pan, sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar evenly over bottom of pan.  Pour butter and maple mixture over brown sugar.  Place pineapple rings on top and cherries in the middle of the rings.  Sprinkle bacon in even layer over everything.  Then carefully pour in cake batter.  Bake at 325F until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (40-45 minutes).


Cool cake over cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Then invert onto serving platter and let cool another 20 minutes.

 

(Served here with a Fig Balsamic reduction)