Stuffed acorn squash

I thought I'd follow my last fall squash recipe with . . . ANOTHER fall squash recipe.

Today's recipe features acorn squash and is an adaptation of a recipe for "zucca al forno" that I saw Mario Batali make on his first cooking show, "Molto Mario," way back in 2001. While Mario probably knew what he was doing, I decided to use much less butter and cheese than he suggested (the man is quite rotund) and also to skip the mushrooms and bread cubes. The result: a very savory and satisfying squash preparation. And rich even with less butter and cheese -- Judd and I shared one half of one squash tonight and now have quite a lot of cheesy acorn squash in the refrigerator.

Here's what you'll need:

2 acorn squashes

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 onion, cut into fine dice

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

8oz mascarpone cheese

1/3 lb grated gruyere cheese

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Melt butter in small saute pan. Add diced onion and cook, stirred, until onion begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

3. Cut cap off of acorn squash and cut in half down the center. Remove seeds and set each half in a large baking dish.

4. In a large bowl, mix egg, mascarpone, parmesan, gruyere, nutmeg, and browned onions. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Fill each squash half with a large spoonful (~1/4 cup each) of the cheese mixture. Bake for 90 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before eating so you don't burn your mouth!

Serves 4 as a main course, and 8 as a side dish.