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.

Apple and Oats Stuffed Pumpkin

Right before Halloween, Justin and I headed to the pumpkin patch to get our carving pumpkins... it's something I have to do every year.  While we were there, we grabbed some acorn squash, butternut squash, carnival squash, and a few sugar pie pumpkins.  We had ideas for them... until the lady who was running the show told us how good they were stuffed with apples and raisins.  Well, we did a little research, and then like usual, we winged it.  It came out so awesome!  I felt like it was a dessert, though it wasn't overly sweet (which is how we like our desserts).  My sister in law topped it off with whipped cream to add a little kick to it.  Justin thought it was a perfectly good meal and had no need to be labeled "dessert".  Next one I make, I think I'm going to add some oats to it to give the stuffing even more body.  Either way you eat it... it's going to be awesome!

Here were this year's pumpkins - mine is evil, Justin's is the cyclops.


And so, even though it's past Halloween, we're going to lay down some Misfits' "Halloween".  -jen

APPLE AND OATS STUFFED PUMPKIN

• 1 small sugar pie pumpkin (2-3 pounds)
• 2 medium Granny Smith apples, chopped
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons amaretto liqueur (or whiskey, or brandy, or rum - it's all good)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed small

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the top off of your pumpkin.  Scoop out the seeds and string insides, discarding.  Mix all of the remaining ingredients except the butter.  Pack firmly into the pumpkin until about half way.  Sprinkle with half of the cubed butter.  Pack the remaining filling into the pumpkin and top with the remaining butter.

Place the lid back on top of the pumpkin.  Place on a baking sheet or in a pie pan and bake for 1.5 - 2 hours, until pumpkin insides are tender.

Slice the pumpkin into quarters and serve topped with the stuffing.  Depending on the size of your pumpkin, you may have leftover filling that wouldn't fit inside.  I suggest saving it and mixing it in with some oatmeal for breakfast the next morning!

Crab Stuffed Fillet of Sole in Lemon Dill Sauce

So, growing up here in California in general, and more specifically the North Coast, I've always been exposed to awesome seafood.  From fresh snapper, to abalone, to salmon, my family and I have always enjoyed the fruits of the Pacific.  I caught my first catfish at 8 and my middle brother caught his first mackerel in the open Pacific at 9.  I've fished bluegill, rainbow and brown trout, steelhead, small mouth bass, lingcod, and a myriad of other fish since my childhood.  While I rarely fish anymore, I love to cook seafood here at home for Jen and myself.  Living in Eureka, one of the old fishing capitols of California, affords us the opportunity to get fresh seafood at an affordable price almost anytime of year, from a variety of outlets and vendors.

When Jen moved out to Cali, she'd only been exposed to seafood in the Midwest and was not much of a fan at all.  I don't blame her.  After living here a couple of years, she started falling in love with sushi, fresh pan-fried catfish, all kinds of shellfish, and basically any kind of crustacean (i.e. crabs, lobster, shrimp, etc.), many of which she had liked before but rarely had fresh.  Since then we've made it a regular part of our menu.  Recently, we'd wanted to do some seafood and she suggested stuffing some whitefish with some crab.  Since I'm no moron, I said, "Of course!"  I decided to do something simple and easy, some canned crab, as opposed to fresh, as it involves much less prep and it tastes awesome regardless.

As I made the dish, I was listening to an all time classic of one of my favorite bands, Primus, "Fish On".  Though this song is not punk rock, per say, it is none the less a part of my musical repertoire from earlier days and I happen to love Les Claypool's bass action, especially in their earlier years.  Since he happens to reference San Pablo Bay, which is located in the north eastern part of the Greater San Francisco Bay, it seemed perfectly appropriate for me to use as I grew up in what San Franciscan's refer to as the North Bay, but the rest of us call Ukiah.

This is a simple dish that can be a perfect meal to serve to company as it seems far more complicated than it is.  We served it up with some steamed broccoli and used wild Dover sole for the whitefish, but you could substitute your your favorite mild, whitefish or garden veggies very easily.  The sauce is simple to put together and takes no time at all so it really is a snap to prepare as long as you have the ingredients all chopped and measured out ahead of time. -justin

WILD DOVER SOLE STUFFED WITH CRAB

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons minced mushroom
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup crab meat (I used canned, lump crab but you could use whatever you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper
• 6 fillets of wild Dover sole (or whatever whitefish you prefer)

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.  Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 3-quart sauce pan and heat to medium-high.  Add the yellow onion and cook until golden brown.  Add mushrooms, green onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Pull vegetables from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add the crab, Gruyere, lemon juice, white pepper, and Mexican oregano and mix thoroughly.  Add salt to taste.  Lay out fillets and salt and pepper both sides.  Divide filling evenly among the fillets and roll them closed over the filling, using toothpicks to secure the ends of the fish fillets.  Place evenly spaced on a lightly oiled sheet pan, brush tops lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and place in the oven.  Cook for 25-30 minutes or until tops are starting to brown.  Serve with the following sauce which can easily be prepared while the fish is baking:

LEMON DILL SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced shallots (or onions)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup white wine
• juice of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• salt to taste
• 5 tablespoons sweet cream butter

Add the olive oil to a small sauce pan heated over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook until golden brown.  Add garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Add wine and cook 5 minutes.  Add lemon juice and zest, dill and Dijon and stir until combined.  Add heavy cream and black pepper, taste and add salt ass needed.  When properly seasoned, add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure each is melted and incorporated before adding the next.

We served this with steamed broccoli, as I mentioned before, as the sauce goes with it beautifully.  One could also use cauliflower, asparagus, or artichokes, etc.