Tinkering with a recipe

We host a Christmas ship party every year when the Argosy Cruise line sends a lead ship with music and private boat owners sail along side, their boats decorated with lights.

One day I'll get a good shot.

Some of our guests are vegetarians, so I wanted an alternate to the ham we usually serve. I was thinking mac and cheese since I had a nice loaf of Tillamook cheddar cheese. I found a recipe with butternut squash on the NYTimes cooking site. I liked the idea of adding some vegetables to this usually rich, and sometimes one note, dish.

Here are the changes I made:

• There were no aromatics. Why? I sauteed some shallot, leek and garlic. I also added some chopped sage and thyme, about a tablespoon in total. I added about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to sharpen the flavor.
• I decided to cut up the squash in a medium dice and roast it first. In the recipe, you roast it and then mash it. I wanted some textural interest. I should have roasted the squash in a bigger pan as I wanted to get some caramelization on it, but it steamed instead.
• Somewhere I saw a recipe where you top the casserole with crushed Goldfish crackers. I thought, why not guild the lily? Plus, it was fun crushing the little critters up!

It came out quite well and was consumed by the end of the night. Play with it and see what you can come up with!