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Brute squash mutilation: Throw it!

Posted on October 30th, 2009 by Rebecca Lindamood in Cook's Corner

Rebecca LindamoodSquash get a bum rap for difficulty in the kitchen.  I think that’s owing to the fact that most people don’t think in terms of brute mutilation. They daintily jab at the big beasties with inadequately sized knives of dubious sharpness.  It’s not their fault that they’ve just never been taught the easy way around a squash.  I will now remedy that with the full set of instructions on how to open (and cook) a hard winter squash.

Throw it.  Seriously.  Just find a location where a little amount of squash guts won’t do any harm, lift the squash as high up as you can get it, and throw it as hard as you possibly can.

If you’re muscle bound like Arnold Schwarzenneger or that ‘the Rock’ guy from those creepy mummies in Egypt movies whose names escape me right now you should probably just toss it gently or you’ll be cleaning squash puree off your sidewalk.  Otherwise, propel that thing toward the hard ground like your life depends on it.

If you have difficulty in lifting things, you can even the playing field a bit by dropping it on a large rock.  Even if it doesn’t break in two, it’ll at least provide a nifty crack that’ll make the process of splitting it vastly easier.

Once it’s opened, you can scoop out the guts, put the ‘cut’ side down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the squash is easily pierced with the tip of a knife.  Remove your pan from the oven and cool until you can easily handle it.

Now comes the fun stuff.  You can go any of a number of ways from here:

Leave the squash in its skin and stuff it with a mixture of brown rice, sausage, cranberry sauce, and spices.

Alternately, you could scoop that beautiful baked squash away from the skin.  Mash the squash and add a few pats of butter, a few grinds of pepper, a sprinkle of salt and eat!

What do you do with your squash? Leave a comment below to share your favorite preparation.

The post above is taken from Rebecca Lindamood’s blog archives. For her most recent recipes, kitchen tips and parenting adventures, visit FoodieWithFamily.com. Rebecca also writes a monthly column in the Record-Eagle’s Food section.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 9:23 am and is filed under Cook's Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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    Squash! I did not forget about the pumpkin squares! I bought one to bake for my pumpkin squares. Used the handy dandy tool that comes with a carving kit to open it, removed the seeds (my grandsons helped me clean them & remove the guts), then we added salt and olive oil, baked them for a short time and had them for a snack... Meanwhile, the pumpkin baked for a few hours- upright with the top back on! The skin peeled right off after cooling- used a potatoe poke to check for doneness!
    Also, I used my fav Farberware utensil to puree the orange squash (pumpkin) to prepare for the pumpkin squares.
    One could use a white cake mix for the cookie crust,
    but I just use flour, butter and sugar for mine! equal parts except double the flour(2 C),Add a bit of baking powder if you want it... (optional).
    mix on tray (I use a large baking tray) and press to form crust but not too hard!
    Bake at 375o or so until lightly browned. Remove & turn oven down to 350o...
    While that was baking, have mixed the pumpkin according to any regular pumpkin pie recipe (like Libby's) except double everything and add 2 TBSP Molasses and /or use brown sugar and add an extra egg!
    The color will not be quite as orange as store cans of pumpkin, but the flavor is great and one can bake with very little salt, no food color and NO PRESERVATIVES!
    Spread the pumpkin mix over the cookie crust and bake until a knife comes out clean. Remove, let cool (or eat it warm! yummy too) Use whip topping if desired.
    Try not to make the cookie crust too thick as it detracts from the taste of the pumplin, which should be a good thickness.
    This is my own recipe... I loooked thru all my cookbooks and on-line. I could not find another recipe just like this, except for the one that used a cake mix (cheater), so Enjoy!
    Remember, I am making this to take up to CMU Sunday night, so if you want a piece of my pumpkin squares, then come to the Music Hall for my son's recital Sunday at 7PM and you can eat pumpkin squares with us afterward. Dan is very good on his tuba and sits principal tuba in the orchestra!
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    I like acorn squash cooked with some honey and brown sugar in it. I cook it open side up.
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