Worth the effort: Butternut squash lasagne

Dave believes it's a bad idea to try new recipes out on guests. Go with the tried and true, he reasons. Don't risk a disaster when company comes. I prefer life on the edge. If I'm going to go to the trouble of making something new, especially some recipe that's at all complicated, it's not worth it unless I'm going to share it with a crowd.

I'm wishing we'd invited guests over last night, because I made a side dish that was so labor-intensive I'm not sure I'll ever make it again. It was delicious, lasagne with butternut squash, garlic and rosemary, an Epicurious recipe my friend Felicia flagged to my attention some months ago. Felicia, who lives in Missoula, is the best home cook I know. She has such an elegant touch, and never complains that any elaborate dish wasn't worth the trouble. In fact, when she sent me this recipe, she didn't mention that I'd be dirtying lots of dishes and using up most of an afternoon to cook this.

Actually, I have to admit that this lasagne was so good, I'm sure I will make it again. The rosemary-garlic sauce is such a perfect subtle complement to the sweetness of the butternut squash. What I will do next time is cook the sauce and squash a day in advance. The next day, this would go together pretty easily. And I'll invite company over.

This is a side dish, not an entree, so we grilled pork chops to go with it last night. Felicia recommends baking your unpeeled squash for 40 minutes at 350 degrees before peeling, dicing and roasting, a good idea. I used four medium squash, and ended up with about five cups of diced pieces, less than the recipe recommends, but it was plenty. The last step in this recipe involves spreading whipped cream evenly on top of the casserole, so it looks like dessert when you put it into the oven. Very strange. But it works.