The trouble with butternut squash at the Thanksgiving table is we tend to be pretty unimaginative in how we prepare it. As such, the results often are fairly lackluster.

It’s understandable how it happens. With all the attention given to buttery mashed potatoes, savory stuffing, doughy dinner rolls, tartly sweet cranberry sauce, and of course the all-important turkey and gravy, butternut (and other winter squashes) tends to suffer from afterthought syndrome.

Most people just steam and mash it, giving it the appearance – but little of the appeal – of mashed potatoes. Others go for roasting, a method I generally favor. But roasting can be hit or miss depending on the quality of the squash and how well it caramelizes in the oven. And that last part requires reasonably high heat, something hard to deliver when so many other foods are competing for oven time.