This Thanksgiving, I found out some good news; you can replace a baking, sweet pumkin with butternut squash.  Butternuts are much easier to find this time of year, and they even have organic ones at the co-op.  So Miguel and I made butternut squash pie and butternut cashew soup for our contribution to Thanksgiving Dinner at moms house.  Here's the Pumpkin recipe that turned out brilliantly:

First Prepare the Squash, as it needs to cook for about an hour:

• 1 large butternut squash cut in half lengthwise
• 2Tbsp olive oil
  

Directions:

1. Remove the seeds from the squash 
2. Rub the insides of the squash with the olive oil
3. Set the squash insides-down in a baking dish and prick the skins with a fork.
4. Bake at 350 F for 45 min to an hour, until soft

Once the squash is done, put it in a cold place to help speed up the cooling process.  You can continue putting together the rest of the ingredients as it cools.

Ingredients for pie: 

• 1 c sugar
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1.5 cans evaporated milk
• 3 cups of butternut squash (blended)
• 1 cup crushed walnuts (optional but wonderful)

1. Take the squash and remove the skins.  Then place insides in a separate bowl and mix with a hand mixer for a few minutes, until it is nice and smooth (this helps with the satiny texture of the pie in the end).  Measure out the 3 cups (if you have extra, you can increase the recipe amount and cook the remaining batter in small dishes for "butternut custards", which are very cute).
2. Combine all ingredients except for walnuts in a large bowl.
3. Prepare your favorite pie crust recipe, or use a prepared pie crust.  We like deep dish pie, so Miguel makes the crust and we use a quiche pan or deep pie pan.  Here's his recipe for pie crust.
4. If you choose to use the walnuts, place them in the bottom of the crust and press down on them slightly to embed them in the crust (some will float, but it doesn't change the flavor :)
5. Pour the liquidy (don't worry if it is runny, it will firm up!) mixture into the pan with the uncooked crust.
6. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then at 350 for 45-60 minutes.  Cover crust edges with foil to prevent them from burning. 
7. Best if served with the real deal whipped cream and lots of good company.