Butternut Squash, Apple & Gorgonzola Gratin

My parents came to stay at our house the weekend after Thanksgiving so that we could do some shopping and my mom could help me with a few projects. We did the whole Black Friday thing and then came home and napped until early afternoon and then I wanted to make us all a nice dinner. I ended up picking my Lemon Chicken Cutlets with Homemade Buttermilk Dressing, but I wanted to add one more thing to really round out the meal. I stumbled upon a recipe similar to this and tweaked a few things to make it a touch lighter and less rich (although it’s still a pretty rich dish). Butternut squash and granny smith apples are sliced thin and roasted in half & half, seasoning and a little basting oil then topped with the bold flavored gorgonzola cheese. This dish was the perfect compliment to the rest of the meal and is a nice change of pace from the typical potato gratin. Also a reminder that the Etsy shop will be reopening tomorrow with some of the new Christmas items. I unexpectedly sold much more of the newer items than I thought I would at the event I was a vendor at last night, but I will add what’s left and will continue to make more!  My husband and I are going to put the tree up and start decorating the house tomorrow too so get ready for some decor posts as well as the announcement of the giveaway early next week! 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8″ x 8″ casserole dish with a light coating of basting oil (our grocery store sells this, it’s just a mix of grapeseed and canola oil mixed with garlic & herbs… if you can’t find it just use a light flavorless oil). Peel a small butternut squash, scoop out and discard the seeds and cut it into thin slices (I used our french mandolin on 1/4″ setting). Layer the squash overlapping slightly to cover the bottom of your casserole dish, season with salt and pepper and grate some fresh nutmeg over the top. Repeat to make a second layer of the squash then pour 1 1/2 cups half & half over the top and roast in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to press the squash down and cook for 10 minutes more. While that’s in the oven you can peel, core and slice 2 medium granny smith apples and toss them with about 1 tbsp basting oil. Remove the squash from the oven after the 10 minutes and layer the apples on top of the squash. Press everything down again and bake for 45 minutes. Dot with about 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese and return to the oven just until the cheese has melted.

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