Look What I Made...Winter Squash Gratin!

I realize that for many of you, whipping up a tasty side dish for a holiday meal is no big thing. Even though I'm a foodie at heart, I'm somewhat of a novice when it comes to holiday dinners! So when I offered to make a Thanksgiving side dish for a hungry extended family, I'll admit...I panicked a little.

Imagine my relief when I realized how easy our Winter Squash Gratin was, and how great it turned out. Here's what I did and how I did it; apologies for my dodgy cameraphone photography, but check out my cool 21st century cookbook!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups grated Cabot Sharp Cheddar (about 6 ounces) NOTE: I used our Vintage Choice Cheddar
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (about 3 slices firm white bread) NOTE: I used pre-packaged panko breadcrumbs, which were very light and great with the cheese!
2 tablespoons Cabot Salted Butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds dry-fleshed winter squash, such as Buttercup, Hubbard or Kabocha, peeled and seeded NOTE: I used a single Delicata squash, peeled and seeded, because every supermarket near me was out of all other winter squash! Weird, I know! 
3/4-1 cup chicken broth


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375?F. Combine cheese and bread crumbs in bowl and set aside.

2. In large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and sugar. Stir often until onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in salt, thyme and pepper, then transfer mixture to 1 1/2-quart baking dish.

3. Cut squash into smaller chunks and cut these chunks into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Add to onions and stir together well. (I cut the squash into horizontal,  super thin slices, and then stacked and halved the slices, pictured above, pre-onions, and to the left, post-onions.)

4. Pour 3/4 cup of chicken broth evenly over squash. Cover dish tightly with lid or foil and bake for about 70 minutes, or until squash is tender and broth is nearly all absorbed. If squash appears dry, add remaining 1/4 cup broth. (Using the covered glass dish as I did, I did not need the extra broth.)

5. Sprinkle squash with reserved bread crumb mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 20 minutes longer. (I cooked it with the lid on for 10 minutes, 10 minutes off.)

That's all there is to it! Look how awesome this looks after you toast up the breadcrumb/cheese mixture!

The recipe is more than enough for 8 people eating a large holiday meal. If you're not having many other side dishes, or if you're fixing this for a family dinner, the proportions are more suited for 4 to 6 people.

It went over pretty darn well, I'd say! I'm already getting requests to make it for Christmas dinner! I think I will, especially since I was left with almost nothing for leftovers: