The Lush Chef

Thanksgiving may be over, but I'll be eating squash all fall and winter long.  I'm always collecting recipes for various dishes to try for this blog and (gasp!) recipes without libations, but when it comes to squash, I just don't even bother searching.  This Italian-inspired Roasted Acorn Squash recipe from Tyler Florence just blows all other squash recipes out of the water.  The Lush Chef's family has been making this every Thanksgiving for a few years now and it's a dish I look forward to each time.  The combination of butter, brown sugar, amaretto and crushed cookies all baking in the hollow of the squash, provides just enough sweetness to mix in when you start spooning the gourds apart.  These are sure to cause some family squabbles when you're trying to grab for leftovers the next day...

Roasted Acorn Squash with Amaretto - serves 4-8 (depending on how big the squash are)
Ingredients:

• 2 acorn squash (about 1 lb each)
• salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbs amaretto
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 lb crushed vanilla wafers, almond biscotti or pignoli cookies

- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Split the squash in half lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds.
- Set the squash halves, cut sides up, on a baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- In a small bowl, cream the butter, sugar and amaretto.
- With a pastry brush or spoon, coat the sides of each squash half with the butter mixture.
- Put 2 sage leaves on top of each and sprinkle the hollowed parts with the crushed cookies.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tender, basting with the butter mixture every 15 minutes.