A veritable cornucopia of winter squash

I just made: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butternut-Squash-with-Shallots-and-Sage-232812 -- yum yum yum. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Acorn-Squash-with-Chile-Vinaigrette-236007 is another winner. Finally, this http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butternut-Squash-Gratin-with-Goat-Cheese-and-Hazelnuts-240412 is time-consuming but was a big hit at a Thanksgiving potluck one year.

Here is my standby for butternut squash: http://claireandme.blogspot.com/2008/12/groaning-with-christmasseasonalholiday.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/mellowfood/3830127995/ Alternatively I'd mash up some roasted squash with pesto and pine nuts and add some carmalized onions and roll up some nice little phyllo packets.

Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian has a recipe for Bengali Squash that's delicious. I think it's called Bengali Kaddu. The squash is cubed and cooked with a bunch of spices, and then mashed. It's a little sweet and has a kick from the peppers and the mustard seeds. I can't find the exact recipe online, but http://evolvingtastes.blogspot.com/2007/09/thelma-sanders-with-bengali-seasoning.html is very close. It's similar to the recipe you linked to so I bet you'd like it. My dad halves squashes (usually acorn) and stuffs them with a wild rice, cranberry, and hazelnut pilaf. That's a good main dish for vegetarians. Sorry, no recipe, but you could find any pilaf dish you like and use that, and the squash part is just halved and roasted. I also really like http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/10/sneaky-sneaky.html.

You could make a squash risotto -- roast the squash in then oven till soft, then mash it up & add it to the finished risotto shortly before serving. Maybe add some Parmesan cheese as well! Soup is always a good one as well! & I just made a great butternut squash pasta the other night -- sautee an onion, then add a couple pounds of diced squash & a few leaves of minced sage. Add 1C vegetable broth & simmer covered for a few minutes (just till the squash is soft), then uncover & add 1/2C cream & simmer uncovered till thickened. Toss the sauce over 1lb cooked pasta & add Parmesan cheese, salt, & pepper to taste.

Looks like acorn/butternut is covered, but you also mentioned spaghetti squash, which is amazing stuff - you can prepare it like other winter squash, if you want, but you can also pretty much treat it like pasta. My favorite is a tomatoes and cheese "http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/casseroles/spaghetti-squash-lentils1.html" from the Moosewood cookbook.

I love this recipe: http://www.recipesource.com/fgv/vegetables/squash/00/rec0021.html

I just peeled and cubed a butternut squash and roasted it with 1" pieces of thick cut bacon (onion or shallot is good too), a little olive oil and some herbs, and then served over pasta with wilted chard. It works with other winter squashes as well. 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, then wilt the chopped chard with the pasta water. Very good with cheese too (feta, or ricotta salata, or romano), and even pretty good without the bacon. My grandparents used to steam and mash winter squash and then freeze it and we'd eat it all year round. It's a good addition to any vegetable soup or chili even in mush form and wonderful on its own with a dab of butter, much better than the little bricks of frozen squash you get at the supermarket. They grew it so they really had a ton of it, but I'll probably do this toward the end of the season when everyone's a little tired of it.

My favorite use for butternut is soup. There are a million recipes on Epicurious. I'm partial to the ones with a bit of cayenne, myself. Acorn: split, roast, serve with butter and brown sugar (or maple syrup).

We've been crazy about stuffed squash this season: you basically cut the thing in half; put in bread cubes, spices (I like a little sage, thyme, rosemary), salt & pepper; pour in some milk (or cream or buttermilk or soymilk); top with cheese, and bake for ~ an hour at 350-375. I've done it with acorn squashes and small pumpkins, and it's delicious! Here's another version: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/fall/autumn-supper-savory-stuffed-pumpkin-099843