Winter Squash with Spiced Butter/Butternut Squash with a Maple-Whiskey-Coffee Glaze

I made two types of squash for Thanksgiving dinner: acorn and delicata squash with spiced butter (pictured above) and butternut squash with a maple-whiskey-coffee glaze. The squash in both dishes was roasted, nothing fancy, but the toppings made them special. Unlike butternut squash, the skin of acorn and delicata squash is edible, and when it's roasted the skin becomes almost crispy, adding another texture to the dish. Both recipes are from Bon Appetit, with a few tweaks. I had to toss the first batch of maple-whiskey-coffee glaze because I let it cook too long; when it cooled it became hardened caramel. Be careful to regularly monitor the consistency.

I roasted the squash all together and then mixed them with their respective toppings in separate containers. The preparation and cooking time is the same if you only make one of them.

Total time to cook: 40 minutes (for both dishes)

Ingredients:

For the spiced butter and squash
1 small to medium acorn squash
1 small to medium delicata squash
1 stick of margarine at room temperature
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp grated lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil (this is enough to roast all of the squash in both dishes, but you can use this amount if you're only making one of them)
Extra salt and pepper for seasoning

For the butternut squash
1 medium butternut squash
1.5 cups hot coffee
9 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup whiskey (or bourbon)
2 tbsp margarine

Steps:

To make the squash
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with greased aluminum foil.
- For the acorn squash, cut it in half length-wise, scoop out the seeds and assorted gunk, and cut half-inch thick slices. For the delicata squash, cut into half-inch thick slices and cut out the seeds (you can keep them as rings or cut them in half). For the butternut squash, peel and cut into large chunks.
- Mix the squash and olive oil in a large bowl until the pieces are covered. Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet (I did the butternut squash in one batch and the other squash in a second batch). Season with a little kosher salt and pepper.
- Roast for about 20 minutes, or until the pieces are soft and starting to brown.

Butternut squash

Delicata and acorn squash

- Cover and set aside. The squash can stay at room temperature for a few hours, or you can refrigerate it. Before serving, you'll want to warm them up but not so much that they continue to cook.

To make the spiced butter
- In a small bowl, mix the spices and lime zest with the margarine until they're fully incorporated.Mix in the lime juice at the end.

- Roll into a log in a piece of parchment paper and chill until at least 10 minutes before it's time to serve.

- Just before serving, warm the squash.
- In a small saucepan, melt the spiced butter. Pour over the squash and serve immediately.

For the butternut squash with maple-whiskey-coffee glaze
- In a medium saucepan over high heat, mix the coffee, syrup and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

- Bring the sauce to a boil and let it cook for about six minutes so it reduces.

- Reduce the heat to medium, add the margarine and whiskey, and simmer the sauce for at least another 25 minutes, stirring regularly. After 25 minutes, keep cooking it but regularly checking the consistency every five minutes or so.

- Once the sauce starts to coat the spoon when you lift it up, remove the pot from the heat.

- Just before serving, warm the squash.
- You can chill the sauce in a covered container for at least a day. Before serving, heat it up a little in a pot, pour over the squash and serve right away.