Help! Taking Spaghetti Squash Casserole to a Dinner Tonight

[nowiswhen]

Disclaimer:  I've NEVER made spaghetti squash before!

 

Here's my goal: To fill a big hollowed out half of a spaghetti squash with spaghetti squash mixed with spaghetti sauce to a gathering.  We will be eating dinner a couple of hours after we get there.

 

What I've done so far:

yesterday - made the spaghetti sauce; roasted & scraped the squash yesterday & put in bowl in fridge; scraped out the biggest half of the squash shell to use as the serving bowl

Good news: the squash is NOT mushy, it's "al dente"

 

Help:  How to I reheat the squash, shell & sauce so it gets to the table hot but NOT mushy?

 

Originally I thought I'd mix the squash & sauce, put it in the shell, top with some extra sauce, wrap it in foil and pop in the oven to reheat at the party.  But I'm worried it will turn to mush while it reheats!!!

 

Now I'm wondering if I should take the squash, sauce & shell separately and quickly put it together when I get there (so I'm not hogging their cooking area).

How does this sound?:

1. reheat the shell in the microwave on the serving plate

2. "stir fry" the squash in a skillet on the stove just to get it hot, add sauce to the skillet squash to get it all hot

3. fill the heated shell and put it on the table

 

NONE of the people who will be there are Whole30 and have never had anything like this before.  I don't want to blow it.

 

Please respond quickly if you can....I'm leaving in just a few hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Deb.]

The shell seems to be a worry? No?  What if you ditched the shell and just had it in a casserole/serving dish. 

I like the steps of your reheat plan; I have found that reheating on the stovetop works well. 

I agree you should mix in the sauce ONLY when you get there. 

 

Have a look at this link for the full rundown how to cook SS and then how to use it in a whole bunch of compliant recipes! 

 

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/22006-30-more-ingredient-of-day-links-for-each-day-of-the-whole-30-part-2/?p=232393

[Tina R]

I have reheated SS in a microwave with a little water and then drained it and added sauce. I have never had the squash get mushy, it has always been al dente. Good Luck!

[nowiswhen]

Thanks Deb & Tina!  There was so much SS that I went with quick tossing in a skillet and then adding the sauce.  I did heat the shell in the M/W and found I needed to cut the middle rib of the shell's bottom so it would stay steady on the platter.  It was a big hit!!!  I know they didn't expect to like it so much by the size of the servings taken at first   But they all came back for a much larger second helping.  They really liked the bit of crunch in the SS instead of moosh.  I brought parmesan for the rest of them to sprinkle on and I did make the spaghetti sauce spicier than usual (good thing since the squash is so bland).  I wish the sauce had been thicker.  The squash wasn't watery but it was very moist so it seemed to me the sauce was diluted.

 

If I get good at this, it might be my go-to dish for get togethers!

 

Thanks so much for all of the recipes Deb!!!  I was wondering what else I could do with SS.

[Ann@HowcrossCastle]

Thanks for posting an update, I was dying to know how it went! I love that they all came back for big second helpings.

ann

[Deb.]

Congrats on the success. Its true some of the moisture in the SS probably leaked into the sauce. 

Maybe add less liquid to the sauce next time or even throw in a little arrowroot powder when you combine the two could help. 

[nowiswhen]

I think I'll start out with a thicker than usual sauce the next time.