A Warm Winter's Squash

Okay, I killed two birds with one stone. I figured out what to do with Buttercup Squash, which I had never before eaten or cooked, and I made mashed potatoes better. Some people like mashed potatoes just the way they are. Some people like to enhance them with cheeses and garlic. I don't get excited by plain mashed potatoes, and the bleu/goat cheese addition is good, but I was ready for something new. I have recently mashed parsnips or celery root with the potatoes, and really enjoyed the simple addition of the other veggies, while not adding calories with high fat cheeses.

When we were in Montana, one of the garden items we were sent home with was Buttercup squash. It is a slightly sweet squash that looks like a green pumpkin. Adding some mashed potoatoes to the cooked mashed squash made a super yummy side dish, and adding the leftovers to a bread recipe made amazing bread, perfect for sandwiches at lunch, or even toast with marmalade in the morning.

Browned Butter Mashed Squash

2 Buttercup squash, halved and seeds removed
3 medium Russet potatoes
3 tbls butter
10 leaves fresh sage finely chopped
milk or vegetable broth
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash in large dish, cut side down, with about 1 inch water in bottom. Steam until a fork pierces flesh easily. Scrub potatoes and cut into one inch chunks. Boil until tender. Strain and put potatoes in a large bowl. Scoop flesh of squash bowl with potatoes. Using a hand masher, smash potatoes and squash together to your preferred texture. On stove top, melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add sage, and simmer, swirling often, until butter begins to brown. Pull off the heat and pour over potato/squash mixture. Stir to combine, adding milk or broth until squash is creamy. Season to taste and serve hot as a side dish.

This made quite a lot, so we had some leftovers. The next day I pulled out the bread maker, found a recipe for bread using mashed potatoes, and made a great loaf of bread using the leftovers. It made a loaf that was really nice for sandwiches, but the savory flavor was also really tasty toasted with a thin layer of butter and a thick layer of orange marmalade. And what a great way to use the leftovers.

**Quick note: I have also taken the ends of that loaf of bread and put them in the freezer. I will pull them out at Thanksgiving and use them in my bread dressing. When I went back to school, I was given a breadmaker and made all of my bread for the 2 1/2 years I lived in Tucson. Living alone, I often did not finish a loaf, but found that the frozen ends came in handy anytime I wanted to make a bread dressing, especially since they almost all had a firm crust, enabling the bread to hold up well to other ingredients and moisture.