Roasted Butternut Squash with Bourbon and Browned Butter:

When I was asked by a local Findlay market produce vendor, Daisy Mae, for a good recipe involving some winter vegetables, I immediately thought of the roasted butternut squash I had made the previous Monday. With bourbon, amaretto, vanilla, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, it was an extremely tasty side dish.

“Sounds great! Do you have the recipe?”

“uh....well, not really.”

You see, there's a reason that I married a math major. David likes details, numbers, and measuring. I avoid it whenever possible. In fact, we began hanging out so that David could supposedly help me with my math homework in college. We never got around to it.

So I made another batch of roasted squash, making sure to measure so that the recipe could be recorded. David supervised.

Heat the oven to 400. Scrape the seeds out of the squash. Put a little olive oil over the surface of the squash, and place on the center rack.

Roast the squash for about 40 minutes until a squash can be easily pierced with a fork.

Add a quarter cup of unsalted butter to a saucepan on medium heat. The butter will melt and begin to bubble; stir constantly and right when the butter solids begin to turn a deep brown add the bourbon, then the amaretto. It's important to add the bourbon before the butter solids burn and turn black, so keep a careful eye on it. Add the rest of the spices. Let simmer while stirring until it reaches a syrupy consistency.

After the squash has cooled, scrape out the insides into a bowl to add the spiced browned butter mixture in. Mix well.

David has asked me to type up the recipe for those who are not accustomed to reading "Laura" font. So here is the recipe in Georgia.

2 butternut squash, halved and roasted

For the brown butter mixture:

1/4 cup amaretto
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sweet cinnamon
salt to taste (this may not be necessary if you used salted butter.)

Daisy Mae is great addition to Findlay Market. For more information about them, Courtney from Epi-ventures did a great interview and post, which can be found here on her blog.