Pioneer Squash

If you hadn't noticed from my postings - I have a slight fascination with the Pioneer Woman.  I discovered her blog a couple years ago and my life hasn't been the same sense.  Reading her blog convinces me that I too want to marry a cattle rancher - that is until I talk to my mom and she points out that 1) I'm allergic to most animals with fur - including cows and horses 2) I don't do well with intense smells - like manure and 3) it's a lot of work and a lot of laundry.  I usually sigh an "Oh, that's right" and I go on with my day.

Anyways - right now Pioneer Woman is entering a really wonderful time of the year.  She's posting recipes good for the holidays.  My eyes are always bigger than my stomach when reading during this time - and it's hard to not go out and buy every ingredient for every recipe she posts right away.  Thankfully, Molly called and told me that spaghetti squash leftover from her CSA, which was the star ingredient in PW's Spaghetti Squash with Maple Syrup and Shallots.

This dish was wicked easy to make.  I don't think that I have worked with spaghetti squash before, but I have to say that it was a lot of fun scraping the insides so that they turned into "spaghetti".  This ends up being a sweet but savory side dish, but honestly I could eat it for breakfast on its own.  It was perfect compliment to a rotisserie chicken and steamed broccoli (which we seasoned lightly with some butter and Maple Pepper*). 

As we were finishing our preparations of the dish, I looked at my sister and said, "I betcha that this would be awesome with bacon bits in it".  Her response, "I was thinking the same thing".  So below I have the directions to make the recipe + Bacon.  I still encourage you to to the Pioneer Woman's website and check out the original recipe though.

PW's Spaghetti Squash with Maple Syrup and Shallots + Bacon

Ingredients:
  1 Spaghetti Squash
  3-4 pieces of bacon
  1 Tbsp Butter
  2 Shallots - minced
  1/4 cup REAL maple syrup
  dash table salt
  dash of nutmeg

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Stab the spaghetti squash with a fork a few times, place it on a cookie sheet, and then put that in the oven.  Bake for about 1 hour.  While baking the squash, mince the shallots.  Once shallots are mixed, take out a frying pan and fry up the bacon on the stove.  When bacon is cooked and to your favorite level of crispiness (some people like bacon crispier than other people), turn off the heat under the pan with the bacon.  Remove bacon from pan and then cut it up into bacon bits.  Put bacon bits to the side.  Keep the bacon grease in the pan for the moment.

After the squash has been baking for an hour, check to see if it is soft by squeezing it (you should be using an oven mitt when doing this).  If the squash gives into to your gentle squeezes, it's ready.  Pull the squash out of the oven.  Cut it in half and then pull out center part with the seeds (like a pumpkin).  Once all seeds are removed, take a fork and scrape it across the insides.  The squash will come away in strings like spaghetti (hence the name, go to Pioneer Woman's website to see great pictures of this process).  Scrape all the squash insides into a medium size bowl. 

Next, turn on med high the burner under the pan with the bacon grease.  Add in a Tbsp of butter.  Once butter melts, add in shallots.  Cook while stirring until shallots are soft.  Reduce the heat.  Add in maple syrup and the bacon bits.  Once they are mixed well, throw in the pinch of salt and the pinch of nutmeg (it's ok if you think John Legend and the Stephen Colbert Christmas special when you do this).  Mix well.  Turn off heat and then pour the contents of the pan over the spaghetti squash in the bowl.  Mix until maple sauce has fully combined with the squash. Serve. 

I have a feeling that this recipe will become a winter favorite of mine.  It has potential to become a total comfort food dish.

* Maple Pepper is something my mom bought for my sister up in Maine this summer.  It's basically ground pepper combined with crystalized maple sugar and it is GOOD STUFF.  My sister puts it on almost everything.  The link above will take you directly to its distributors website where you can buy it.  I will probably buy some for myself.