Following loosely this video:

I am using 129f and will come in at about eleven hours (because sleep).  Added salt, pepper, and cayenne as usual.

Ingredients:

• 1 decent sized pumpkin with lid removed and inside cleaned
• sauté
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 12? cloves garlic chopped
  • handful of dried bing cherries chopped
• deglaze
  • 1/4 cup? pomegranate molasses
  • 1/4 cup? white wine
• remove to mixing bowl (leaving liquid behind)
• sauté after reducing retained liquid
  • 10 maybe mushrooms (let them fully wilt)
  • 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• remove to mixing bowl
• 1 cup black rice with 3.5 cups chicken stock 5 minutes boil and simmer to finish, then add to mixing bowl
• finally add the rest to the mixing bowl
  • 1/4 cup? Asiago
  • coriander, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg
  • 2 apples chopped
  • lemon juice
  • cream
  • sage
• mix everything and stuff the pumpkin

450f for 30 minutes and then 350f for another 90 minutes

I ended up with too much liquid after cooking and would reduce the amount of liquid used (or reduce the rice liquid more) for the next cook.

Pumpkin seeds

• sauté in olive oil
• add salt, cayenne, and butter
• 300f oven 45 minutes

These turned out amazing for being so simple.

Gutting the pumpkin (and then salvaging the seeds) was a bit of a pain in the ass.  I used an ice cream scoop for gutting the pumpkin which did a fair job for most of it.  I may try using a serrated knife for removing the lid next time, though I suspect my dreams of sawing around are folly.

The flavor combination of the stuffing was amazing and I wouldn’t hope to alter it one bit.  Just maybe reducing the final liquidity some.

Have fun!