Ahhh... winter squash. You poor southerners just do not know how to cook 'em. Growing up in Michigan, we had some truly tasty squash, a nice dry and astringent buttercup was always my favorite, followed by a super sweet blue hubbard. That being said, the key to some of the squash like acorn (forget butternut, they are worthless) is to bake them twice.

Step 1: You have two options for first bake: quarter, scoop out seeds and coat in olive oil and bake at 375F for 45 minutes + or until flesh is soft, or bake whole at same temp until you can poke a knife all the way through the skin into the cavity with ease.

Step 2: Scoop out flesh and let it drain (for instance, put it in a colander and move it around occasionally until most of the excess moisture has drained out).

Step 3: Rebake! Perhaps in a nice ceramic pan? You can always add a little cinnamon if you want it to be more of a desert, I usually just rebake as is, then slap a little olive oil or butter on it before eating. Anyways, it should be baked until the remaining moisture has mostly been cooked out. What is left will have a nice strong, usually sweet, squash taste. One can get creative, sometimes I add some coconut milk with pecans from our pecan tree, other times I will add celery and onions etc...

do you do pinterest? I imagine there are a lot of savory squash recipes. Yes: stuffed shells, squash/black bean enchiladas, squash lasagna. Oh, and there's an apple and sausage stuffed acorn squash. MMM, that looks pretty good.

good idea :) also wondering if there is a milder tasting one.....but those enchiladas are sounding enticing...love black beans.and the apple sausage one too !!

My favorite acorn and butternut

Bake both cut open in half seeds out cut side down in pan of water 1inch. One hour at least. Should be super soft. Puree butternut and put in cavity of acorn. Put toasted pecans on top and butter. Lots of butter