And…the holiday dishes continue here on P-Dub Cooks. I wanted to begin cooking Thanksgiving food early this year so you’d have plenty of time to read, examine, and even practice dishes beforehand, if you’re into that sort of thing. So far this fall I’ve added Homemade Pumpkin Puree, Fresh Corn with Wild Rice, Whiskey Glazed Carrots, Creamy Herbed Potatoes, and Pumpkin Cake with Whiskey Whipped Cream to the basic Thanksgiving menu we started last year, and I promise many more holiday-friendly dishes in the coming weeks. Later this week, I’ll have some special Halloween treats to share, but for now, let’s keep going with the Thanksgiving theme.
It just feels right.
Today’s offering is Baked Acorn Squash, something I’ve made off and on for years, and something about which I fantasize during the years I don’t make it. I’m a real squash fanatic, whether it’s pumpkin, butternut, spaghetti, or acorn (or zucchini or summer squash, for that matter) so I’m always looking for great ways to prepare it that’s a little set apart from the fray.
This is as easy as it comes: you simply halve and hollow out acorn squash, then fill the hollow center with butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and salt…then you bake it. The results is a soft, flavorful squash that’s dripping with all the good things in life.
While some folks might prefer to scrape out the individual halves into a large casserole dish, I prefer to serve them straight out of the oven. If the squash are large, they might be a little to big for one person. But if your family is close like mine, they won’t be afraid to share.
This is one of those “fun to make” dishes, by the way. So let’s have some fun together. K? K. 10-4, good buddy.
The Cast of Characters: Acorn Squash, salt (kosher works best), butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup (the real stuff.) This is simple stuff, folks. Really simple stuff.
Meet Acorn Squash. He’s a really nice guy.
Meet Pure Maple Syrup. I can get her at my small-town grocery store. That means you can get her, too.
Meet Butter. Butter is your friend. Don’t listen to the naysayers.
Okay, so the naysayers have medical degrees and they’ve held studies. But still. Don’t listen to ’em.
Meet Brown Sugar. He’s trouble with a capital “T”.
Begin by placing each squash on a large cutting board.
To cut the squash in half lengthwise, very carefully pierce the middle with a sharp knife. The skin is quite tough, so move slowly so you don’t slip and cause yourself a trip to the E.R.
Gently push the top of the knife until it penetrates the hard skin. After that, it’ll slide right in a lot more easily.
Ever seen the inside of an acorn squash? If not, you can now mark that off your list of things to do before you croak.
Next, with a spoon or scoop, just scrape out the seeds and stringy membranes. It’s no different from what we did with the pumpkin a couple of weeks ago, or the butternut squash we fixed last year.
Squash are similar that way.
Repeat this until all the halves are hollowed out, man.
Sometimes I just have to throw in a “man.” Makes me feel groovy, far out, and outta sight.
Now, with the tip of a sharp knife, score the surface of the squash. Just five or six lines will do just fine.
Then sprinkle the surface with salt. In situations like this, kosher is your friend. It’s just easier to sprinkle, harder to oversalt…and it feels good rubbing between your fingers.
I’m very tactile.
Add a generous tablespoon of regular (salted) butter into the hollow. So basically, 1 1/2 tablespoons, except I’m in denial about my butter use and prefer to say “generous tablespoon.”
Someday I hope to write a book about the effectiveness of euphemistic language, and how a healthy sense of denial contributes to an overall increased happiness in life. It also contributes to an overall increased bottom size, but I won’t put that in the book.
Now, dump in a heaping couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. There’s no set amount here; if you like things on the sweet side, add a little more.
Now, just drizzle with maple syrup.
Again, no set amount…
I just drizzle ’til it feels good.
In cooking, it’s all about feeling good. Don’t ever forget that.
Next, pour a couple of cups of water into the pan, just to provide the squash with a little moist heat while they’re baking.
In baking, it’s all about moist heat.
Actually, it’s not all about moist heat. I just made that up.
Now just cover the pan with foil, leaving some gaps to let some steam escape.
Pop the pan into the oven and bake ’em for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes. Turn on the broiler for the last five minutes to ensure the tops get brown and the butter/sugar mixture bubbles violently for a minute or so. But you’ll have to stand there and babysit! You don’t want to char the tops.
In the words of my brother, Mike: “Oh Lord.” Would you take a look at THIS? Lawsie.
Mmmm. What you wind up with is a soft, delectable acorn squash filled with a buttery, sugary soup. It seriously doesn’t get much better than this.
Now, with a spoon, scoop up some of the liquid…
And drizzle it all over the surface of the squash.
Oh Lord again.
So how do you eat this, you ask?
Well, there are two ways. One, you can scrape out the flesh (and juice) of each half and put the whole mixture into a casserole dish. mashing it up slightly. Then, just warm it up in the oven when you’re ready to serve.
OR, you can do what I do and just serve the halves on a platter. I think they look better that way.
And then…
You just use your spoon to scrape up the soft flesh inside…
And eat it by the spoonful, right along with the decadent liquid that coated it on its way out.
And then, give thanks for squash. For butter. For brown sugar. And for all the other wonderful things of this earth that make life worth living.
Amen.
Love,Pioneer Woman