merrill stubbs' lamb stew with butternut squash

This is definitely the time of year for stews and braises. It's chilly here in California (Wunderground is telling me that it is currently 40.7F outside) but that doesn't hold a candle to temperatures in the Midwest and East- the front page of the New York Times trumpets that the temperature has "plummeted to a record 4 degrees" today. Sounds pretty terrible, no?

With the cold post-holiday weather, there's nothing more satisfying than making a pot of something warm and comforting and Merrill Stubbs' lamb stew fits the bill perfectly. I decided to make this after we had friends over for dinner last week and I made a winter risotto that included a bit of butternut squash. Having a lot of leftover squash on my hands, I was looking for a good way to use it up and this seemed like the ticket. I'm not generally a huge fan of butternut squash because so many recipes seem to pair it with sweet things- but lamb with butternut squash is lovely. The mellowness of the squash marries well with the "muskiness" (as Ms. Stubbs terms it) of the lamb, resulting in a tasty, well-balanced stew. It was the perfect dish for a cold winter's eve and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is feeling chilled to the bones this week. Enjoy!

Since I followed the recipe exactly (though I found that the lamb was totally cooked in 2 hours), I didn't write it out. It can be found here.