Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pork-Apple Sausage, Orzo, and Pear Risotto

feeling fallish? this dish combines a bunch of fall flavors in a yummy mix.

2 medium-sized (5-6" wide) acorn squash
4 pork-apple sausages
1/4 C orzo
1.5 C rice
1/2 C cheap scotch, bourbon, or whiskey
1/2 C manchego
1 pear

THE SQUASH
preheat oven to 350.
scrub the surfaces, remove all labels, and halve two small-sized acorn squashes (approx 5-6" wide).
de-seed and de-vein (no stringy stuff).
place all four halves cut-side down in a buttered 9x12 pan.
once the oven achieves temperature, pour 1/4" of hot water in the pan.
bake for 45 minutes.
keep the oven on after you remove the squash.
drain the water and set them aside, cut side up.

THE SAUSAGE
i love the pork apple sausage from whole foods. use a cast iron skillet to cook four of dem links. rotate the sausages so they brown, almost blacken, on all sides.
once they're done and cool, slice lengthwise, and then into 1/4" to 1/2" half-rounds.
don't rinse those pan drippings away! with the pan on medium heat, add 1/2 C of cheap bourbon, scotch, or whiskey to deglaze. basically the alcohol will burn off, and as you stir, you incorproate the drippings into the mix. dump it all into the risotto and watch the color change! YUM!

THE RISOTTO
boil 2 C of water in another pan. keep aside and keep hot.
meanwhile, toast 1/2 C of orzo in 1/2 T butter on medium low heat. it can turn medium brown.
rinse 1.5 C of white rice in warm water. drain.
add the rice to the orzo. mix.
once the rice and orzo starts to crackle, add a little (1/4 C) of the boiling water.
stir. once it crackles again, continue to add 1/4 to 1/2 C of the water in stages.
as you make your way through most of the water, add the sliced sausages into the risotto.
the process should take 20-25 minutes to go through all the water. you'll notice the mixture begins to keep its softness. test for doneness -- if the rice is the least bit crunchy, you need to add more water and keep the process going.

THE FINISH
shred or grate all the manchego into the risotto. stir.
peel the skin off the pear.
after the pan drippings and sausage have been added to the risotto, and the all the water has been added and nearly evaporated, dice 3 sides of the pear into small 1/4" cubes. add the dices into the risotto. stir and cook another minute. the 4th side of the pear should be sliced thinly and reserved for garnish.

stuff the now-cool acorn squash halves with the risotto. put back in the oven for 5 minutes. remove and garnish with three thin slices of the pear.

serve with white wine and a light salad. shit yeah.