Thanksgiving Recipes 4 – Squash ‘n’ Apples
[This is part of a multi-post series on Thanksgiving. Start from the beginning.]
Oh man, this is my favorite part. Mike’s aunt makes a pretty darn good Thanksgiving herself. But beyond any other thing in her meal, the squash ‘n’ apples are king. I love them. So, over the years, I have watched carefully as she made them, and I reproduced them to the best of my abilities.
All you need is a butternut squash, a couple of apples (I used Cortland), some spices, and a bit of butter. But it’s all how it goes together. Peel the squash and the apples. Cut the squash in half and then into about 1/2 inch slices, and keep the pieces in order so they look pretty. Then cut the apples into quarters, remove the core, and cut the quarters into quarters.
Now, simply arrange the squash in an oval gratin. I’m pretty sure it’s a standard size, about 14 inches across and 8 wide. In any case, I definitely registered for one for our wedding primarily so I’d have one that looked to be the same size as Mike’s aunt’s – purely for this dish. (Don’t worry, I’ve found other uses too.)
Once you have the squash in the gratin, slip a slice of apple between each slice of squash. Sometimes, they’ll fall down under, sometimes they’ll stay wedged above, it’s okay. And if there isn’t quite enough room, just take a few slices of squash and move them into the middle between the two rows of squash. The idea is to get apple touching each piece of squash.
Then sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg (I used freshly grated, which was exciting for me, but Mike’s aunt uses pre-ground, so I know that works okay too), and ground cloves over the top of the squash and apples. Use about two parts cinnamon to one part each nutmeg and cloves, and try to get an even but light coating over the squash and apples. Then take about two tablespoons of butter, and put dots of butter over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. I checked after 45 minutes, and it definitely was not done. It’s done when the squash is soft. The apples may be a bit mushy, but that’s good. They’re kind of like a sauce for the squash.
This stuff is yummy. You should make it.
Squash and apple bake is one of my favorites! I like to cook the squash a litte bit first, so the apples stay just a titch crisper. Then I put the cinnamon/etc on, and THEN I put on an oatmeal/applecrisp mix on top, for some crunch.
Oooh, I should give you my recipe for carrots cosmopolitan- TASTY.
I am kind of in the market for a different veggie recipe. My new post has the spinach recipe, but I don’t want to do that again – it reheats very poorly, and takes a lot of direct attention. Great recipe – bad for Thanksgiving. My current replacement idea is asparagus (assuming it looks good at the store) grilled on the Foreman with lemon pepper. So I’d love to hear about carrots cosmopolitan!
I’ll look up the recipe when I get home! Pretty simple- baby carrots, pineapple juice, brandy (if desired) and a couple of spices. I have the check the proportions though!