Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar

I'm a Southerner so I didn't grow up eating the winter squash (acorn, butternut or spaghetti) native to Massachusetts where I live now, but we get them in our CSA share so I have to figure out a way to cook them. If I'm feeling lazy, I can just cut the squash in half lenth-wise, put them in a baking dish, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the microwave for 20 minutes or so. Let them cool a bit until I can handle them, then chop them up, put some butter on them and serve them. But that's too easy.

We had an acorn squash tonight. My sweet husband cut it in half (with a rubber mallet and a cleaver), I put them in a baking pan, covered them up with plastic wrap and put them in the microwave. When it was done, I transferred them to a little broiler pan that fits in the toaster oven and turned the little oven to broil to heat it up. I combined some brown sugar and butter and a little salt in a small saucepan and whisked them together to make a syrupy sauce. I spooned the sauce over the squash and put it under the broiler to caramelize.

It was really tasty, but I think next time, after the squash comes out of the microwave, I'll cut it into pieces, into eighths, then spoon the syrup over the pieces, then broil them. We've got another acorn squash sitting in the pantry so I'll have to use it in the next week. The squash had a nice but subtle flavor, and the syrup was a hit. Plus it was easy, and I didn't have to use the regular oven or stovetop, another bonus.