Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe

Naturally sweet acorn squash meets salty breakfast sausage, walnuts, molasses and apple cider for a super-easy, satisfying crockpot meal. All you need to round out this hearty one-pot dish is a green salad and some dinner rolls.

Check out my full video demonstration for this recipe as part of The Virginia Farm Bureau's bi-monthly cooking show "Heart of the Home". I've also pasted the recipe below. Enjoy!

Crockpot Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe

Serves 4-6

2 medium acorn squash
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound sage breakfast sausage
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup plain breadcrumbs
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 large egg, beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup molasses
½ cup apple cider or apple juice

Slice stems off the squash, and scoop out the seeds. Slice off a small piece from the bottom of each squash so it will sit level in your slow cooker. Brush the edges and insides of each squash with olive oil.

In a sauté pan crumble and brown the sausage. Drain the sausage, and place it in a large bowl. Remove half of the drippings from the pan, and then cook the onion and garlic in the remaining fat until softened. Add the onion and garlic to the sausage. Mix in breadcrumbs, walnuts, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the squash with the sausage mixture.

Use cooking spray to coat a piece of heavy-duty foil that’s large enough to cover the whole inside of your slow cooker. Place the squash cut side up on the foil and brush the exposed flesh with the molasses. Pour the cider down the sides of the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Remove squash to a cutting board by lifting it up by the foil, and cut in halves or quarters. Serve as a side dish, or as a main dish with a green salad and rolls.

All photos and text ©2013 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Southern Slow Cooker Cookbook

Due out August 2013. Hang tight kids!

UPDATE: I just found out that The Southern Slow Cooker is officially available for pre-order as of today!  So excited! Pre-order on Amazon.

They say never to judge a book by its cover, but the fact is we all do. Just walk into any Barnes and Noble (or hit Amazon.com) and visit the cookbook section and you'll see all those books with smiling celebrity faces and food porny photos with grab-you-by-the-shirt catchy titles and subtitles which, more often than not, bear words like "simple", "fresh" and "foolproof". This is the nature of our highly competitive game, to rope you in with luscious photos, peppy titles and sleek artwork that gets you to click, pick-up, open and flip pages, or simply remember come Christmas gift time.

Only a few days ago, we (me and the folks at Ten Speed Press) decided on the cover (shot by Erin Kunkel) for "The Southern Slow Cooker" cookbook and it wasn't easy. We narrowed the choices down to three based on recipes in the book-- a lovely shot of black-eyed peas and stewed tomatoes, a soul satisfying photo of a bowl of beef stew and the picture above featuring a bowl of Chesapeake Bay crab and corn chowder topped with fresh corn relish. All three of these recipes are built for slow cooking, so theoretically any of them could grace the book's cover. However, we wanted this cover to truly stand out, not only from the hundreds of other cookbooks out there, but also from other slow cooker cookbooks (which tend to feature lots and lots of stew, chili and the like), so crab chowder it is. It's Southern, fresh and flavorful, perfect for the slow cooker and a little different from the rest.

And I'm going to come right out and say, I like it. A lot. Naturally, I hope you do, too, so much so that you'll just have to get a copy when the times comes (behold the shameless plug). In the meantime, I am down to the final copy edits and crazy as it sounds, the book will soon be available for pre-order. How the heck did that happen so fast?

Stay tuned here, here and here for updates, sample recipes and all other kinds of slow cooking goodness, and I'd love to hear what you think of the cover so feel free to chime on in!

Best to everyone this holiday season....

Kendra

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Slow Cooker Ginger Ale Baked Apples Recipe

 Check out the whole post next door at The Southern Slow Cooker blog.

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What You Don't Know About Writing a Cookbook

Life as a recipe writer/tester is good when things work out.

So I'm officially in the thick of it, brainstorming, writing, shopping for ingredients, testing, tasting, re-writing, shopping for ingredients, re-testing, tasting, cleaning, bleaching and cleaning some more.

Such is the glamorous life of writing a cookbook. Don't get me wrong, I am utterly thrilled to death to have this opportunity, and every day I've got my eyes on the prize for when that first box of copies arrives on my doorstep, but the fact is, the means to the end involves some seriously hard work.

For starters, I haven't had a day off in at least 3 weeks (maybe more, but who is counting), and it looks like there ain't one coming anytime soon. I've got a fast deadline looming that often gives me panic attacks, most of the time at the oh-so convenient hour of 3am, which in turn, makes me a ball of fun when I have to get up at 7am. to start food prep.

Since I'm writing a slow cooker cookbook (emphasis on sloooowwww), the majority of the recipes I'm testing require 8+ hours of cooking time with some recipes topping out at 10-12 hours, which means there are some days where my work day starts at 8am and finishes at 11pm+. In effect, I've become a slave to my hot-ass kitchen, I've one nasty case of cabin fever, and I'm starting to get really cranky.

Now that I've aired that laundry list of whiny complaints, let me give you something practical to chew on, a little window into the financial world of what it's like to write a cookbook.

Recipe testing is an arduous and often expensive process: While some cookbook authors have an army of recipe writers, testers, kitchen assistants, personal shoppers, even ghostwriters to pen their books, the rest of us are left with a cutting board, a knife, pens and paper, and a long day ahead, and I personally wouldn't have it any other way. I'm far to anal to put my work in the hands of someone else, and frankly, sometimes it's easier to fly solo. While I do have several fine volunteer recipe testers lined up to help me (mostly friends and family), this will only happen after I have tested them at least twice and butchered them all to hell (please reference the above photo). This process not only includes conceptualizing, writing, testing, and re-testing, but sometimes even total failure with a complete do-over.

It also involves assembling grocery lists, shopping, shopping some more, and then shopping some more. I know my grocery store produce guys, my butchers and my check-out gals, and I figure they're wondering why I'm there all the time.

What many people may not realize is that all of these trips to the grocery store I pay for myself and they can get seriously expensive after weekly visits for months on end. But you got a big advance, so what's the problem, you ask? I did get an advance, but it wasn't "big" or anywhere on par with a Rachael Ray six-plus figure deal. It was average, and on par with what other cookbook authors who aren't celebs tend to make, and while I am thankful for the cushion, I will also need every penny of it. 

For starters, I paid a literary lawyer to help me negotiate the contract (I don't have an agent which can be another 15% deducted out of both your advance and your royalties). I am also paying for the book's photography (a biggie, but worth it because I know it will be stellar). I'm even paying for the indexing of the recipes (which takes a professional's eye so that was a necessity).

None of these extra costs are news to seasoned cookbook authors. This is how it's done now, and when one signs on to write a book, it's expected, but throw in food costs for testing some hundreds of recipes, paying the I.R.S., kitchen equipment costs, even basic necessities that get used up on a regular basis like trash bags, kitchen cleaning materials, kitchen tools etc...when the smoke clears, often an author ain't left with much. Toss in the fact that when she is on a super tight deadline, she won't have any time to take on any other jobs, so this cashola up front has got to last. To get a good idea of what I'm talking about, check out this article by veteran cookbook author David Lebovitz (specifically reference section 6 to see what I mean).

At the same time, writing a cookbook can be a beautiful thing. I've got dinners in the freezer to last the rest of the year, and my husband, parents and neighbors eat like kings. They get overly caloric, bacon-laden goodies like this on a regular basis:

They even get leftovers that can be made into yummy sandwiches.

So all is certainly not lost, not even close. I am loving every second of sweating in the kitchen and plopping my butt in front of the computer to conceive something new and exciting. In fact, I haven't felt this happy in a long time, and in the end that's what it's all about. I'm doing what I love, living the dream. I won't be getting rich and I'm okay with that. This is not why I'm here, and I figure thousands of hard working chefs, food writers, bloggers and various creatives know exactly what I'm talking about.

In the meantime, I shall keep on keeping on and you should too. If you dream of writing a cookbook one day, don't let this information discourage you, but do know it's not all hearts and flowers. If you're okay with that and still want in, write a book proposal, get an agent, or self-publish your own book. Whatever you do, just do it. Your personal satisfaction will be priceless.

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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I Just Signed a Cookbook Deal

I'm super excited to announce that I have just signed on to pen a cookbook with Ten Speed Press/Crown Publishing Group. The Southern Slow Cooker: Big-Flavor, Low-Fuss Recipes for Comfort Food Classics is set to come out next summer 2013.

I could not be more pleased to be working with Ten Speed again, and I am so proud to be in the company of such amazing authors whose cookbooks I've dog-eared and dirtied up time and time again: Martha Foose, Virginia Willis, Andrea Nguyen, Mollie Cox Bryan and David McMillan to name a very few.

It's going to be a very busy, hot-in-the-kitchen summer for me as I slug through lots and lots of recipe testing (think soups, stews and other steamy foods), but I couldn't be happier. Stay tuned here for updates along with a glimpse of what goes into the making of a cookbook. It's going to be fun ride!

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Crabcakes, Grilled Pizza, Tacos and Rick Bayless

So once again, I'm the jerk-off for neglecting my blog, and there is a legitimate reason beyond laziness (which is the usual culprit) that I shall disclose soon, but in the meantime let me openly apologize to all five of you that read my blog for such an undue absence. In addition to a rather large (and exciting) project I am working on, I have also developed quite the addiction to Instagram (find me under Kendra Bailey Morris) a.k.a. the app that makes even crappy photogs like me look like we know what the hell we're doing, so I thought I'd take a moment to share some tasty highlights from this month's cooking extravaganza. Blogger Disclaimer: recipes shall follow, yet I recommend holding your horses because it won't be anytime soon.

Let's begin with the above image: pan-fried crab cakes over sweet corn relish and fresh arugula topped with Crab Louis sauce (basically a combo of mayo, chili sauce, horseradish etc...etc....) For the record it was quite good, so good in fact that I demolished the whole plate in roughly three bites = off-the-cuff cooking =  success. Happy.

More salad jank because it's too dang hot to cook. This time, mixed arugula and fresh kale (I love, love raw kale), topped with roasted beets (I love, love roasted beets), toasted walnuts and goat cheese (I lov...ok, who doesn't love goat frickin' cheese).

Warning: annoyingly cute dog photo above. Did I mention it's awfully hot here in Virginia? Our poor hyper-haired Aussie dog can't find a cool spot anywhere anymore, but he did discover the ceramic floor behind the cold, ceramic toilet. Reminds me of the time I tried Goldschlager for the first time in college. For the record, the gold in the bottle looks exactly the same after you barf it back up.

Had the family here for a week, and one evening it was grilled pizzas. My dear husband is the master of dough on the grill, so we got ourselves a mini vat of Pizza Tonight marinara, which I totally adore (both the sauce and the cool chicks who run this local RVA business), some fresh mozzarella and Parmesan, along with a few plucked basil leaves from the garden and we had ourselves a full-on pizza party. Note to all you newlyweds: it's these kinds of communal food gatherings that will garner you mega extended fam points, so I recommend hosting them often and with abandon.

We do taco night at least once a week. Over the years, I've developed some sort of pathological addiction to tacos. Some days I can't stop thinking about them. Corn tortillas have become my other man, my dirty Mexican secret, and when they're filled with grilled carne asada, sliced avocado, pico de gallo and queso fresco, I actually have fantasies involving me, Rick Bayless and a molcajete. Don't even get me started on the accompanying tostones (twice fried plantains) dipped in guacamole. It's totally Fifty Shades of Grey but with sea salt and lime.

Ok, so I totally did not make this, but Tim Bereika from Secco Wine Bar did, and it is to die for. I've boasted before how I think Chef Bereika is one of the best in Richmond, and in addition to a whole host of other amazing goodies he whips up in Secco's cozy kitchen like "Fiddlehead Ferns, Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Soft Egg, Watercress, Saba Emulsion, Fennel Pollen", he also created this creamy, tangy explosion consisting of fresh Burrata cheese with Sun Gold tomatoes and fresh herbs. Simple. Elegant. Understated. Perfection.

Been playing around with my crock pot lately and recently tried my hand at creating a Virginia blue crab and summer corn chowder topped with the same corn relish I used with the crab cakes (waste not want not). Not only is this dish lovely to look at (thank you, Instagram...mwah!) but it's delicately flavored and perfect for an evening on the patio, crock pot or not. Keep an eye out for the recipe, FYI. Coming soon.

Let me close this little food foray with a chili dog. Why? Because I love chili dogs, almost as much as I love the idea of getting hammered on Corazon de Agave Tequila Anejo with Rick Bayless. There's something so satisfying when you feel the snap of biting into a perfectly cooked hotdog. It's a pressed meat kinda thing, and I totally dig it, especially when the dog is topped with even more meat, in this case, chili sauce made without beans (yuck) or any tomato product whatsoever (different). Just the beef, ma'am. Oh, and some minced onions and chartreuse-colored mustard.

So, thanks for stopping by. I promise to do my best not to disappear entirely this summer as I imbed myself into this project, and yes, for now, the first rule of Fight Club will have to apply as to what the heck I'm doing.

Happy cooking and stay cool.

Kendra

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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