I wouldn’t say that my husband hates butternut squash…he just doesn’t really care for it. Me, I can eat a whole one for lunch, just baked in the oven with cinnamon sprinkled on top. Not he.

Until I made butternut squash kugel, that is.

I’m not one of those people who sneaks veggies into foods where they don’t belong, so it’s not like I was trying to get Hubby to eat his squash. It’s just that he truly loves everything I make, even the dishes that include (main!) ingredients he doesn’t actually like. I would have written this off as a “that’s just you being cute” moment, but when I served this kugel on Shabbos, one of our guests asked for the recipe (here you are, Abi!). And come to think of it, the time we had two seminary girls for lunch, the whole platter was finished. Hmmm.

As far as I’m concerned, though, the taste is only one of this dish’s best attributes. It’s also got a beautiful deep orange color. When I plan a meal, I often think in terms of color. Who wants to eat five foods that all look the same? Okay, I guess maybe someone does. But when I see purple and orange and green and red on my table, all at the same time and none of them thanks to food coloring, I get happy.

You’ll find the recipe below, tweaked from the original in my trusty Gatherings cookbook.

I’d love to hear about what goes on in your kitchen. Have you successfully made “this tastes good!” versions of foods your family doesn’t like?

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