Butternut Squash....

Butternut Squash is a very cool vegetable.  There are tons of different uses for it, like soups and sautee's, I usually roast it, either whole or cut up.  The taste is a cross between a sweet potato and a carrot, its sweet and delicious.  I actually found 2 uses for it the other night, both as a side dish, and a prop.  As you can see from the picture I used the shell for the presentation, and boy was it impressive.  The easiest was to cook the butternut squash is roasting in the oven.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, place cut side up on a baking sheet, drizzle a little olive oil..and kosher salt, and bake at 350-400  for 1- 1.5 hours until soft.  cooking time will depend on the thickness of the squash.

Test the softness with a knife, once soft remove from oven, let it cool a few minutes and remove the insides with a spoon.  I usually place in a bowl and then use my potato masher to mash.  You get a sweet side dish that's simple and doesn't need anything but a little Salt.

I used the empty squash to fill it with my Chicken with baby corn and cranberry stir fry.  This made for a very appetizing and beautiful presentation.
for the chicken Stir Fry:
1 LB chicken breast - sliced very thin
1/2 canned baby corn - cut in half
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup Asian sesame dressing
In a skillet, strir fry the chicken in oil until it turns white, about 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness, add dressing, corn and cranberries, stir fry for another 5 minutes.   I used an ice cream scooper to scoop the mashed squash on the side and topped with chopped parsley.  Enjoy