Don’t get me wrong, I really do enjoy pumpkin and it’s employed in my kitchen in the fall and winter. But butternut squash is something I use all year because it doesn’t depend on heavy fall spices to lift the flavor. Pumpkin has to be gussied up, while butternut squash naturally can stand alone.

Fall is my favorite season, so I jumped on the pumpkin wagon. But instead of buying something pumpkin flavored, I wanted to cook something with actual pumpkin — something fresh and creative.