Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:
> This recipe is in today's (Fargo) Forum. The columnist is local - Sue
> Doeden and she's a mostly self taught and very experienced home/family
> cook. I like her stuff. (She's the one with the Beet Chocolate
> Cupcakes)
>
> My question is, If I make this recipe to take to a Thanksgiving that's
> at least an hour away by car, what's the best way to do that without
> killing any of the guests. I'd LIKE to do it in a crockpot wrap it up
> well and plug it in again when we arrive. Would it be better to
> prepare it all the way to the oven point, refrigerate it and hope the
> hostess has room in her oven (probably not - it's turkey+ for
> thirty.) Or should I just do it all the night before, refrigerate it
> and nuke it when I get there. I'm afraid it will get soggy or mushy.
> Whaddya think? (I can make this without having to go to the store!)
> Lynn in Fargo
>
> Autumn Rice on the Wild Side
>
> ½ cup (1 stick) butter
>
> 1 cup uncooked wild rice
> 1 cup finely chopped onions
> 2 cloves garlic, minced
> 1/4 cup honey
> 1 1/2 cups orange juice
> 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
> 3/4 teaspoon salt
> 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
> 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
> 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
> 2 cups diced sweet potatoes (about 1 pound)
> 2 cups diced butternut squash (about 1 pound)
> 1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries (I'm gonna use Craisins)
> 1/2 cup toasted pecans
>
> Melt butter in a heavy 4-quart Dutch oven. When butter is melted and
> hot, add wild rice and onions. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. While
> rice and onions are cooking, bring orange juice and broth to a boil.
> You can do this in a 4-cup glass measure in the microwave or in a
> saucepot on the stove. Add garlic to wild rice mixture and cook for 2
> more minutes. Stir in honey and blend well. Add hot liquid mixture to
> pot along with salt, coriander, cardamom and nutmeg. Stir in the sweet
> potatoes and squash. Bake, covered, in a preheated 350-degree oven for
> 45 minutes. Remove cover and stir in chopped fresh cranberries.
> Replace cover and bake for another 15 to 30 minutes, until rice and
> squash are tender and almost all of the liquid has cooked away.
> Sprinkle with toasted pecans and serve. Makes 8 side servings.
>
> PS: Sue says if you add cooked/canned black beans to this you have a
> really satisfying vegetarian entree.

I suggest cooking this ABOUT 30 minutes. Next, remove the insert from
the oven and wrap the insert in a blanket. Bring the crockpot with you
"JUST IN CASE". Wrapped in the blanket, everything will continue to
cook, but at a slower rate (for reference Google "Haybox Cooker"). When
you arrive check the contents, and if it has not finished cooking,
finish it off with the crockpot.

The 2nd 30 minutes will TYPICALLY take about 1 1/2 - 2 hours wrapped in
the blanket.