butternut squash w/ caramelized onions & dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Drizzle the bottom of a

large baking sheet with olive oil.Place the squash on a cutting board.

With a small strong knife, remove the stem portion of the squash.

Slice the squash in half end-to-end.Scrape the seeds and pulp

from the center of the squash with a large spoon and discard.

Then cut each portion in half, creating four pieces that are approximately equal in size.

Gently drizzle w/ olive oil & spinkle with coarse salt.

Cover w/ foil & bake for 45-50 min until tender. while it's baking,

caramelize onions

Peel and slice the onions. It's important to have all the onion pieces

roughly the same size and shape so they cook evenly.

Otherwise, smaller pieces will burn before the larger ones caramelize.

Heat the pan over medium heat, then add the oil and continue to heat.

Once the oil is nice and hot, add the onions. They should sizzle

when they hit the oil but not splatter & pop.Stir them together immediately so each onion piece is coated with some of the oil. Now let the onions cook,

stirring up off the bottom frequently. Keep stirring from time to time,

perhaps every 15 to 30 seconds. Once browning begins, you may wish

to lower the heat; then you run a much lower risk of burning the onions.

Either way, watch them closely at this point and stir more frequently.

As the sugar within them caramelizes, they'll go from light tan to golden to deep brown.

Don't cook past a mahogany color, because they're at great danger of burning about now.When the desired color is reached (after at least 10 to 20 minutes).add the squash to the pan & a large handfull of dried cherries. make sure the pan is hot & pour a little water in

(to make steam) and cover for a few minutes to soften the cherries.

add salt if needed & enjoy as a side.