Happy Thanksgiving...butternut squash style

Orange ginger butternut squash

Happy Thanksgiving all, one day late. My intention was to blog this before we left for the big Williamson bash yesterday, but surprisingly it never happened. After visiting my grocery store at 7:00 am this morning (I was the second shopper because I decided to brave Target at 5:45) I discovered that the big displays of squash are still in tact, so hopefully we can all still call this post timely!

Where this recipe came from
This year I was charged with making squash. I had picked up two butternut squashes

at the store last weekend and sort of forgot about it until Tuesday. After frantically searching the internet for the "perfect recipe" I stumbled upon a Martha Stewart recipe that reminded my of my favorite Thanksgiving item as a kid...candied sweet potatoes. My grandmother made them every year (and I never been able to correctly replicate it). Anyway, I decided that this would be the perfect addition.

Making the recipe
Things didn't necessarily go to plan. As I was cooking and tasting (don't worry family members, I was using clean forks...most of the time anyway). I felt like I was missing something. I decided to add a little orange juice and ginger. I also ended up mashing the squash. It was sort of half mashing on it's own and looked strange. This is a perfect example of cooking something that ended up turning out completely different than what I originally had in mind. In the end, it tasted pretty good, so no complaints!

The results
I didn't have high hopes bringing this dish to the feast. As I was making it, Brett kindly asked "why are you making something no one is going to eat?" (Did I mention he's anti-squash). Anyway, I hoped that the rest of the family didn't share his views. Happily the squash was a hit! There was barely any left (which also can be attributed to the fact that there were 20+ people in attendance, we have a lot of  Williamsons!) Nonetheless, everyone loved it.

The recipe
2 butternut squash
4 tbsp butter (you could cook it in olive oil, but this was a holiday, right?)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
tiny dash of crushed red pepper (optional, of course, but I think it brings out the sweetness)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the squash in half. Remove seeds, peel and cube. Be prepared...this takes a while.

Melt the butter over med heat, until it's melted and starts to brown.

Add the squash and cook until tender. This took about 20 minutes for me, but is partly because my pan was a bit overcrowded.

Once the squash is tender, add the brown sugar, chicken stock, orange juice, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper (if using) and salt and pepper. Mash and mix. Serve warm.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of my friends, family and readers! Special shout out to all the great family we got to share Thanksgiving with this year (especially Aunt Kathy and Uncle John for hosting)...and apologies for Bodie puking half-way through dinner! Don't worry, he didn't eat the squash!