Butternut Squash Dip 2 Ways

Amazing Elizabeth is on Faces of Beauty today!

 

I’m back with the promised recipe that caused me to completely mutilate the roof of my mouth with hot, HOT, HOT onions and not even care about the consequences.  And since I know we could all use more burned mouths around the holidays, I knew I had to share it with y’all.

You see, I thought about how many people would be running around with significant pain from eating this hot, HOT, HOT dip and made sure to include a cold on for you too…no, not beer (although that would be awful nice of me, wouldn’t it?  And Lord knows we have plenty of it from Nate’s home brewing…our kitchen looks like it’s straight out of a frat house…).  I’m talking about a cold, creamy, dessert-like (and healthy!) butternut squash dip that you can use to completely wow your guests.  Or just wow yourself… 😉

Seriously guys, this takes salty and sweet to a whole new level, and the great thing is you can use any number of dippers you have on hand.  I used pita chips for the savory dip and apples for the sweet, but any number of crudités options would be great.  Consequently with the sweeter dip a really great dipper would be gingersnaps or some type of cookie.  Because we all need more cookies in our lives!

The options are endless with these guys, and you can cut the recipes in half and just use one butternut squash to make both dips, or double it or triple it.  It’s flexible, just like me after yesterday’s worktime yoga session in which I performed a headstand (haven’t done that since elementary school) and donkey kicks, which resemble a 4-year-old trying to kick up to a handstand.  Too bad 4-year-old me was much better at those than 27-year-old me.

SAVORY BUTTERNUT SQUASH DIP

• 1 medium-sized butternut squash
• 1 8-oz brick of cream cheese (silken tofu is a healthier option), room temperature
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
• 3 medium onions, peeled, cut in half, and slices very thinly
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp cooking sherry
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray liberally with cooking spray.  Cut the top and bottom of the butternut squash off.  Cut in half lengthwise, and using a spoon scoop out the seeds.  Place flesh-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until the squash is fork-tender all the way through.  Meanwhile, melt the butter and olive oil together in a pan over medium heat in a pan fitted with a lid.  Once the butter is melted, add the sliced onions and stir to coat.  Place lid over onions and turn the heat down to low.  Let the onions cook for 1 hour, stirring once in the middle.  Remove the lid, turn the heat to high, and stir for 3-5 minutes.  Add the garlic, saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the sherry and cook until all of the liquid is gone.  Season with a little salt and set aside.

Peel the skin off of the butternut squash and chop into smaller chunks (this doesn’t have to be exact).  Add them to a food processor with the softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan.  Process until extremely smooth, about 2 minutes.  Pour into an oven-safe dish, top (carefully!) with the onions, and sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top.  Broil until the top is golden and bubbly.  Serve hot!

SWEET ‘N’ CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH DIP

• 1 medium-sized butternut squash
• 1 8-oz brick of cream cheese (silken tofu is a healthier option here as well), at room temperature
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray liberally with cooking spray.  Cut the top and bottom of the butternut squash off.  Cut in half lengthwise, and using a spoon scoop out the seeds.  Place flesh-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until the squash is fork-tender all the way through.  Peel the skin off of the butternut squash and chop into smaller chunks (this doesn’t have to be exact).  Add them to a food processor with the softened cream cheese, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and spices.  Process until extremely smooth, and refrigerate for about 1-2 hours.  You need to give it some time for the cream cheese to set.  Serve cold with whatever sweet dessert-like things you want!

 

I hope you guys have an incredible day today, and I’ll be back later with something fun!