the mighty butternut

I hate to get all smitten kitchen on you since a) Deb from SK does it best and b) supuestemente this is a blog about OM, but...I'm gonna. This recipe is just too good. I must-a shout it from-a the rooftops...

Plus, I'm helping you out. In your daily quest to make the life of your spouse/partner as cool as possible, this could be the thing (for that day)! Really. Your loved one is going to be impressed and touched that you can make something this delicious. They will assert that this is the best meal they've ever eaten and that indeed, their life is very cool b/c of you.  Swweeeeeet:)

Here's where you can find the recipe. And I must warn you that this takes a LONG time to make. Anything involving a fresh butternut squash is gonna take awhile. It smells so good and offers so much potential, but, I'll be blunt, it's a bitch to cut up into small chunks...and then you roast it for awhile. And then you pull your Cuisinart out of wherever it's been hiding to make the puree. And then you make your own spice blend which involves toasting the seeds (fennel, cumin, peppercorns, etc.) and then grinding them in a spice blender or with a mortar and pestle. And then you make a bechamel sauce...the mother of all sauces:) Almost every recipe for bechamel states it should take about 8 minutes to finish (the sauce should coat the back of a spoon). I've never had a bechamel sauce take less than three times that long, EVER! Then assemble and bake and voila! BUT also,

if you're gonna do this then do it all the way. You need to set the table, with napkins, and make sure you made a trip to TJ's to pick out a delicious, slightly more expensive than usual, bottle of Pinot Noir. And find your wooden salad bowls and make the salad in those instead of dumping it on the same plate with the lasagna. AND, wash the dishes (there will be A LOT) ahead of time so you don't have to stare at them while you dine. It's just worth it!

OK, so here's the most important thing. As you sit with your spouse/partner (let's say it's your spouse) and he/she (let's say it's a he) starts eating and you sit expectantly, waiting for a comment, remark, something, DO NOT, I repeat, do not jump across the table and slug him after he thoughtfully declares he prefers his lasagna with red, meat sauce!

You're trying to make his life cool, remember? Plus, that just means more leftovers for you. :)

And this is what Owen and Maya did while I made the mighty lasagna of roasted butternut squash: they wrestled...

p.s. I have the Michael Chiarello cookbook and the recipe varies somewhat from the one on Food Network website (e.g., the spice blend is more complex in the book than on the website)