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I have two "go to" ways to prepare spaghetti squash (once you cooked it to the stage when you scoop the "spaghetti" out of it, of course - some do it in the microwave, I prefer oven) : one is with onion, garlic, dill and olive oil (I saute chopped onion in olive oil until translucent, then add spaghetti squash, garlic, dill, season with salt and pepper, and you're good to go), the second one goes like this: stir-fry sliced onions and bell peppers, add marinara sauce, garlic, parsley (sometimes I use basil or even cilantro), season with salt and pepper. If I want a "heavier" meal, I brown some sausage and then mix it with the stir-fried onions and peppers, then continue with marinara, etc. My husband and I love both ways so much that when we buy a nice-sized spaghetti squash, we sometimes can't decide which way we want it and I end up making one half with garlic and dill, and one - with onions, peppers and marinara:-)

KateRuby beat me to it. That's my favorite, too! If I'm feeling wicked, I also add a splash of cream. MMMmmmm...

Here's what I do with spaghetti squash, inspired by Joanne Weir, but she boils it, and roasting really concentrates the flavors.

Spaghetti Squash with Beurre Noir

1 spaghetti squash, 2 1/2 lbs. or so (smaller squash tend to be more flavorful)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a gigantic knife, carefully split the squash lengthwise (from stem to stern). Scrape out all the seeds, then rub the cut and scraped surfaces generously with olive oil. Place cut sides down on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet and bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes. Then turn cut-side up and roast until tender, 15-30 minutes.

When ready to serve, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook it until it turns brown and just begins to smoke, 3-4 minutes. Remove immediately from the heat and stir in the nutmeg.

With a dinner fork, scrape the flesh of the squash free of the skin, and separate the “spaghetti” strands, mounding them in the squash. Serve dribbled with the beurre noir and the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yield: 2 ample servings, or 4-6 side dish servings

@ chiff0nade: Tom Steele's method sounds good, but I'll give you mine as well. Once the squash is cut and cleaned, I place it in a shallow baking pan cut side down. I add water to the pan so that it covers about an inch of the squash halves. Bake in the pre-heated oven (380-400F, depending on your oven) for about 30-35 min (I usually touch the back of the squash with my fingertip (yes, it's hot) - if it's relatively soft, it's ready). Take out, let cool (of course, I usually skip this step:-)), then scrape the strands out with a fork. By the way, they freeze well. You can use as much as you want to serve and freeze the rest for later.

My mother-in-law does not use the oven at all, she simply microwaves the whole thing (she pierces the squash with a fork in a couple of places first) for about 10-12 minutes, depending on the size, then cuts it in two, cleans and gets the strands out.

brooke29, that's a great idea; I hadn't even thought of that before. I knew I bought a microwave for a reason! :)

Questions about preparing specific ingredients are very popular here in SE's forum. Even though only a year has passed, this is the third time members have come to the rescue of a hapless cook who couldn't resist the somewhat odd, pale yellow winter squash during a shopping trip.

You'll find more advice, perhaps repeats, after an early query made by Karen Resta and in the series "Dinner Tonight". Here are the links, found by using SE's search engine:

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2007/10/spaghetti-squash-tis-the-season.html

and less than a fortnight later:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/10/dinner-tonight-spaghetti-squash-with-butter.html

You might find other cooking tips simply by relying on this site's search engine, or consult it before starting a new topic since members share common interests.

I made this spaguetti squash macaroni and cheese

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/franticfoodie/

Well certainly! I do enjoy spaghetti squash as well. Here are a few great recipes:

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Peas and Lemons
Spaghetti Squash Pancakes
Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Mozzarella

Hope you like one of these!

Hillary
Chew on That

Toss cooked squash strands with grated parm and crisped bacon--almost carbonara. Ummmm!

Substitute spaghetti squash for noodles in Chinese style Cold Sesame Noodles. You probably will need to increase garlic and hot pepper flakes. For a good recipe, look to the old Craig Claiborne Chinese cookbook.