Roasted Bacon Maple Butternut

      Most people have candied yams for Thanksgiving.  As part of our feast, though,  I decided to exchange one orange thing for another; instead of sweet potatoes, butternut squash. Still wanted the sweet that you get with the yams, but I thought I'd add a bit of savory too with the bacon.  The sweet comes from maple syrup, which partners with the smokey salty bacon so well. 
      Start by peeling the squash, remove the top section from the bulb section.  Split the bottom section scoop out the seeds then dice into roughly 3/4 inch squares.  You will end up with about
6 cups diced butternut from one large squash.  Lightly blanch the squash in slightly salty boiling water.  You will cook them until they are just soft, but not falling apart, they need to maintain their structure for this recipe.  Basically after you put them in the water and they start boiling again, strain them and shock in ice water.  Next render about
1 LB bacon, diced- you are not cooking it until it is crispy, just until most of the fat has melted off the meat.  When I made this last night I used less bacon, but added some butter to be sure to coat the squash, but we decided that more bacon would be better, and so we wouldn't need the  added butter.  So remove the bacon and fat from the heat, and add
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBS salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
toss the bacon sugar mixture with the butternut and put into a glass casserole dish sprinkle over the top another
1/4 cup brown sugar then drizzle
1/4 cup maple syrup over the top
Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes until it is hot through and has formed a little bit of crust on the top.  Like the dressing this is absolutely something you could make  a day in advance and simply put it in the oven when it is time to eat. 
      For those of you that are looking for a little healthier option (vegan even) remove the bacon, thus bacon fat, and exchange it for a bit of olive oil.  Use a few tablespoon, enough to coat the squash then proceed with the sugar etc. Maybe add a touch of smoked paprika (maybe a 1/2 tsp) for the smokey flavor you are loosing with the bacon. 
      Only a few more recipes to go before the big day.  Going to cook some grits tonight, then I get to experiment with my pear ginger tart.  I have to admit, I put this on the menu because the idea of it sounds really good, but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get the ginger in there without it being a bit ugly. So wish me luch and I will wish it to you as well.  Good luck, and happy eating!