The theme for the 9th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "Attitude of Gratitude." More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week: "Do certain foods come to mind when you think of a bountiful table?" Back in the fall when I was searching for orange foods for the previous week's entry, I had another orange recipe favorite that I wanted to try so I decided I would make it for the bountiful table post so that I could try both recipes...and really, one cannot have too much orange food in one's diet from the nutritional standpoint alone, right? Right. I made only a partial recipe, and if one wanted to cut back on the butter and sugar a bit for moderation's sake and all, this would still be a very tasty squash dish. Rich and delicious, it belongs on a bountiful table. Definitely a repeat, easy enough for a weeknight.
Baked Butternut With Butter And Sugar
Serves 6
Ingredients:
3-1/2 Tablespoons of butter
2-1/4 pounds unpeeled butternut squash
1/4 cup light brown sugar
salt
4 Tablespoons of water
2 bay leaves
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and generously butter the bottom of a large round ovenproof dish (like 12"). Peel the butternut squash by first cutting it in half, then scooping out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the squash into long slices that are about an inch thick. Using a small sharp knife, carefully cut away the skin, keeping the shape of the squash slices and taking care that you don't cut yourself, as the skin is hard. You should have about 1-1/2 pounds of butternut.
Scatter some of the sugar over the bottom of the dish and then lay the butternut slices flat, in a single layer. Scatter the rest of the sugar over the top, dot with the rest of the butter and sprinkle with a little salt. Pour 4 Tablespoons of water around the side and add the bay leaves.
Put into the oven for about 1 hour, or until the butternut is soft and golden, even dark in places, and there is some thick golden juice bubbling away at the bottom. Spoon the pan juices over the squash a couple of times during the cooking -- if it looks a little too dry, add a dribble more water. Serve warm. If you aren't serving it immediately., then reheat gently so that the butter melts again.
