Sausage-roasted squash recipe

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of olive oil, just enough to coat the pan. (If you don't have a big pan, use two medium-size ones; you need to hold all the squash slices in one layer.) With a sharp paring knife, prick holes all over the sausage links. Wield one of the links and dip it into the pan; when it's hot enough to give you a light, mellow sizzle on contact, place the sausages in. You're not trying to char them, just leave them alone and let them slowly render out their fat.
3. Cut the squash: I don't bother peeling them, because the skin comes off easily once it's cooked and it helps to keep the squash's shape while cooking. Cutting hard squash freaks some people out. Don't be scared. You'll be fine, but you will want a good, sharp knife. Some suggest resting the squash on a towel and using a rubber mallet to bang a cleaver through it, but if you are the sort of person that owns a rubber mallet and cleaver for kitchen use, you probably don't need any encouragement from me. For the rest of us, plunge the tip of the knife into the middle of the squash lengthwise, and push down on it, like a lever, to cut through. Then turn it around and repeat on the other side to split the halves. (Do this in three strokes if your knife isn't long enough, etc.) Scoop out the seedy part with a spoon, and cut the squash slices 1½ inches thick.
4. Check on the sausages; if they're lightly browned and starting to look nearly halfway cooked, flip them to start rendering the other side. By now, there should be a generous slick of greasy goodness in the pan. Once there's a little pool of the stuff, set the sausages aside and turn the heat up to medium.
5. Salt and pepper the squash chunks generously, and place them in the pan for a couple of minutes, just enough to start to change the color a bit. Don't worry about browning them; just get them to start turning from bright orange to yellow. Flip the squash, tuck the sausages back into the pans, and put them in the oven. Right about now, your house is going to smell fantastic, and will continue to do so possibly well after you're tired of it.
6. Check on the pan after 15 minutes; if the pan-side of the squash is nicely browned, flip the pieces and, if you haven't already, take out the sausages. Continue roasting until you can slip a paring knife in and out of the squash with no resistance, another 20 minutes or so. Say hello to your new little friend.