I was curious about your post so had to look at Baker Creek. He is offering two cultivars of Snake Gourd, Chinese Cucumber (Trichosanthes cucumerina). There are a dozen or so available cultivars. Used mostly in Indian cuisine. A couple of recipes
Ingredients for Snake gourd Koottu Recipe
Channa Dhal(Kadalaparippu) - 1 cup
Castor oil(Vilakenna) - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Snake gourd(Padavalanga) - 1/2 of one(chopped)
Salt - As reqd
Cumin seeds(Jeerakam) - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 4 nos
Small onions(Kunjulli) - 5 nos
Garlic pods - 4 nos
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp

For seasoning:-
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 nos
Tomato - 1 no
http://www.medindia.net/alternativemedicine/ayurvedaanddiet/Vegetable-Recipe/Snake-Gourd.asp
http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Snake_gourd
Google snake gourd and you will find pages of recipes. As far I am aware it is only used as a processed vegetable.

I tried to grow them last summer, but had no success. They started to bloom a bit later in September, but didn't set anything and were frosted out in mid-October. However, this was due to the fact that we had a record cold summer here with about 8 or 9 nights in July with lows around 38-40 degrees, and a similar number of days with highs in the mid to upper 60s. In a more normal year, I suspect they would do better.

I too would be curious to know what the flavor is like. I imagine that it would be similar to zucchini, sort of neutral, but I could be wrong. I look forward to trying again this year, and am hoping for a more normal weather year after a cool (2008) and a downright cold summer (2009).

One thing I did grow this year with great success despite the cold was bitter melons. They thrived and produced and produced. To bitter for me to eat, but they are very ornamental and fun to grow, so I suspect they'll be back. Only after the season was over did I learn that I was suppossed to parboil them in a change of water first to get rid of much of the bitterness before using them. Live and learn.

Finally, my loofas actually did well despite the cold as well, and I harvested a number of them and cooked them like okra, which was pretty good. I let a couple of the first ones go, and I actually got some decent sponges out of them. They weren't completely matured when the frost came, but were turning brownish, so I just peeled them then boiled and bleached the sponges.

Snake gourd flavor, think cucumber flavored zucchini.