Squash Recipes

Cecily requested some of my favorite squash recipes, so here they are!

Baked Acorn Squash with Pear and Apple
Good enough for dessert. From The Joy of Cooking.

Bake 2 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded, cut side down in a pan with 1/4 inch water at 325 for 45 min. Meanwhile, mix in a bowl:
2 large apples, peeled, cored, & diced
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, & diced
1/4c dried currants or raisins
2T brown sugar
zest of 1 small orange (I always leave this out because I never have it)
1/4t cinnamon
1/8t nutmeg (I approximate on the spices, a dash of this, a shake of that)

Melt 2T butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add apple mixture and cook until fruit is golden brown, about 5 min. Stir in 1/4c apple cider or orange juice (I usually use OJ). Simmer, stirring often, until fruit is tender, about 8 min.
Remove squash from oven, pour off water in pan. Turn squash face up and fill with apple mixture. Return to oven and bake until squash is tender, about 15 min more.

Baked Butternut Squash stuffed with Sausage and Apples
Also from The Joy of Cooking.

Halve lengthwise and remove seeds and strings from 2 butternut squash. Arrange cut side up in a baking dish and brush lightly with 1T olive oil. Cover with lid or foil and bake until almost tender, 30-40min at 375.
Meanwhile, crumble 1c bulk sausage into a skillet and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Without draining off the fat, add 1 large, tart green apple, peeled cored, & cubed. Cook stirring, for several minutes just until crisp-tender. Remove from heat.
When the squash is cooked, let it cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh leaving 3/8in thick shells (careful not to put your scooping spoon through the skin). Lightly mix the squash into the sausage, breaking it up as little as possible.
Mix in:
2T soft butter
1T brown sugar
1/4t ground sage
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pile the stuffing into the squash halves. Dot with 1T butter and 1T brown sugar. Bake, uncovered, until piping hot and brown and crusty on top, 20-25 min. Let cool a bit before serving.
**I usually use only 1/2 pckg of sausage and piling it into the squash halves is great for presentation, but is just baked in a corning ware dish, though it can get drier that way.

Penne with Garlicky Butternut Squash
From the Food Network website, courtesy of Jeanne Lemlin.

Cook 1lb penne pasta in stockpot. Drain thoroughly in a colander.

Heat 1/4c olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Toss in 4c diced butternut squash (from a 1.5lb squash). Saute 5 min, or until it begins to golden. Sprinkle in 4 large garlic cloves, minced (I probably only use 2) and saute 2 min.
Pour in:
1/4c water
1/4t nutmeg
6 sage leaves minced or 1/4t powdered sage
1/4c minced fresh parsley (I always just shake in however much dried parsley I want)
1/2t salt
pepper to taste

Cover the pan. Cook the squash until tender, about 5 min more. Mix penne and squash and toss gently. Sprinkle Parmesan and pass more at the table.