The onset of fall means several things. Hunting seasons open up and that means we can snag the shotgun and bag of decoys and head out for a waterfowl hunt. It also means that delicious wild game recipes are in high demand as folks search for eye-catching Thanksgiving dishes and tasty ways to cook up some duck or goose. Although pumpkin spice is a national favorite seasonal flavor, in this dish, Hunt to Eat ambassador Michael Cravens features his personal favorite fall flavor: the acorn squash. Combine that sweet acorn squash with duck sausage, gouda, and apples, and you’ve got a perfect fall dish.

This simple meal absolutely delivers at the dinner table and makes a perfect centerpiece for a crisp autumn evening.

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash
1 lb duck sausage (or any sausage)
2 small apples or 1 large apple
1 cup gouda cheese
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 cup bread crumbs (plain)

Split the acorn squash in half. Scoop out all of the seeds and create two bowls. Drizzle with olive oil, place on a cooking sheet, and bake at 400° for 50 to 60 minutes or until fork tender.

While your squash is in the oven, prep the rest of your ingredients. Chop the apples and onions, grate your gouda, then dice your garlic and set aside. Bring a skillet to temperature over medium heat and add the sausage. When fully cooked, remove the sausage and add your chopped onion. Cook until it’s translucent. Then, add the diced garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Now add your chopped apple and cook until soft, but not mushy.

In a mixing bowl, add the sausage, apple onion mixture, bread crumbs, and gouda cheese. Leave behind enough grated gouda to top the bowls when stuffed. Mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the acorn squash bowls from the oven and, once they are cooled enough to handle, pack a heaping amount of the sausage mixture into each half-squash. Top with the remaining gouda and bake for thirty minutes at 350 degrees.

While it might not be pumpkin spice-flavored, acorn squash and apple are very seasonal, sausage never falls out of fashion, and everyone who has tasted this recipe has loved it. Warm, melty gouda, combined with the sweet apples, spicy sausage, and nutty squash, especially when served with a good brown ale, will warm up a cool fall evening in the best kind of way.