Thing Ten: Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Tonight, I made this recipe for butternut squash macaroni and cheese. I adore butternut squash, and I liked the idea of using it to thicken and enrich a lightened-up cheese sauce. Simmering it in the milk and broth (I used chicken broth, since I already had the broth base at home) with garlic, sage, and nutmeg (the latter two being my own addition to the recipe) meant that no flavor was lost in draining cooking water. I love the gruyere and parmesan combination, too, because they're both sharply flavored enough to add plenty of cheesiness with less volume than a milder cheese.

The recipe description mentions that it's saucier than most light macaroni and cheese recipes, which tend to skimp on the cheese sauce. The butternut squash means no skimping is needed. When I mixed the cooked pasta with the sauce, I was a little leery, because it seemed soooo wet. I was worried that even though I'd only cooked it to al dente, the pasta wouldn't absorb much of the liquid, and it wouldn't set up. I needn't have worried, though: when I pulled it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes, it firmed up nicely. The finished product is golden and tasty, and really quite good for you, what with the added nutrients and fiber in the squash!

I am going to have leftovers for dinner tomorrow night and Friday night, and will freeze the rest for future dinner. This recipe is definitely a keeper. So are my additions of sage and nutmeg. There isn't much that uses winter squash and dairy products that DOESN'T benefit from sage and nutmeg, if you ask me.