Squashes for my Mom

My mom loves squash of all kinds. She just started following my blog and asked me for my acorn squash recipe. My husband, the aforementioned Gastronomic Masochist, found this recipe. It is amazing and not masochistic at all- quite hedonistic actually if you double the goat cheese in the recipe.

But I digress. When I was a kid I thought it was kind of gross. Now I'm obsessed with it. Here are a couple of my favorite squash recipes: Acorn Squash with Pecans and Goat Cheese, Delicata Squash Quiche, and Squash Souffle.

Acorn Squash with Pecans and Goat Cheese

This is pure bliss, and so visually impressive. It's great with a soup. I can't find the original website, but here's the recipe.

2 acorn squash, halved crosswise and seeded
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup pecans, chopped
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 sprigs thyme (or dried is fine)
4 ounces goat cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Halve the squash and scoop out seeds. Brush with butter and salt. Bake 30 minutes upside down on baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine nuts, syrup, and thyme. Turn squash upright on baking sheet and fill them with the mixture. Slice goat cheese into four equal parts and place on top of mixture. Season with salt and pepper and bake 10 minutes more. Drizzle with more syrup if you want.

Delicata Squash Quiche

You don't necessarily need delicata squash. But we had it in the house after a farmshare and we had no idea what it was, so upon googling it we found this recipe. We have a combination steamer/rice cooker, so this is super easy. I guess it's not a quiche since it has no crust, but it's delicious nonetheless. You cut it into chunks like brownies. But they're not brownies.

Squash Souffle
This is DELICIOUS. I've been told that it tastes like mac and cheese without the pasta, so if you're looking for a gluten-free mac and cheese alternative, try this. If you aren't gluten-free, use panko bread crumbs on top.