Giftable Squash Butter

For the squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush the cut sides of the squash with oil. Place the halves, cut side down, in a baking pan and roast for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a knife. (This varies widely depending on the squash variety. A delicata may cook in 35 minutes while a butternut or kabocha can take 1 hour.) Using a spoon, scrape the flesh into a bowl and discard the skins.

For the squash butter:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a bowl, mix together the roasted squash, sugar, Real California butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Spread onto a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and bake, stirring every 15 minutes with a spatula, until the squash has become thick and slightly caramelized, about 1 1/2 hours.

2. Give it a good stir at the end; it should be smooth and spreadable. If the squash is too fibrous for your liking, blend it in a food processor to even out the texture. If it is thicker than you'd like, you can thin it with a little water.

3. Cool and refrigerate or freeze in a couple of plastic deli containers until ready to use.

Servings: 6 cups