This is a recipe I first had in a steak house in Washington DC last year. Their hash was so good I couldn’t get enough and wound up only eating half of my $45 steak. Usually bringing home leftovers is a bonus, but when “Home” is a hotel room, and there are parties in between, it’s best to forgo the 3 a.m. salmonella festival.
I had forgotten about this delicious hash until a couple of months ago. I called some friends and asked them to meet at a relatively new steakhouse in Old Folsom, 30 miles east of Sacramento. Sutter Street Steak House is almost out of place in Old Folsom. The main street is a throwback to western days, and the restaurants and bars are casual and sometimes downright rowdy.
Walking into Sutter Street Steak House gives you the immediate sensation of, well, being underdressed. Waitstaff in black suits and ties, dark mahogany wood, white tablecloths and a massive vertical wine case of glass and wood stretching from floor to ceiling. Impressive, especially when you’re dressed in golf shorts and shirt.
I’m not here to review a restaurant; that’s something for people on Yelp, but I can say the Maple Pecan Butternut Squash was fantastic. This time I brought the leftover steak home but devoured the hash on site!
Here is the recipe I developed after a couple of beta tests. Oh, I almost forgot, if there are leftovers of this dish, it makes an excellent breakfast hash.

• 6-8 pieces of bacon
• 5 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2-3 tablespoons bacon drippings
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tbls fresh thyme

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook bacon as usual except leave it slightly undercooked. Bacon should still be slightly soft (not crispy) when done. Cool on a paper towel lined plate. Chop bacon into small pieces once cooled. Place the rendered bacon fat in a large bowl.
3. Add the cubed butternut squash, pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt to the large bowl with the bacon fat.
4. Mix together to coat the squash well. Add pieces of bacon to the mixture and mix well.
5. Heat a large cast iron skillet of heavy bottomed frying pan (use the same one used to fry the bacon).
6. Add the mixture to the pan and fry until almost soft and remove to 400 degree oven until fork tender.
7. Remove from oven to a serving dish.
8. Top with the fresh thyme.
9. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from PaleOMG.com