Sometimes I wonder about myself, I really do. I mean here I have a beautiful Camembert sitting in the fridge for a week, and two butternuts so fresh they were still covered in dirt. For days I just stared blankly at them - bewildered about what to do. Luckily the synapses fired off because when I tell you this was delicious I mean it was delicious in an unexplainable earthy sort of umami kind of way. The rind that was somehow wonderfully - moldy, charred, buttery, and chewy all at once really did it for me.

This is what I did but any arrangement of the these ingredients will result in a veeeery good situation - this I can promise!

1 Camembert, chilled so you can slice it easily
2 small or 1 large butternut, halved and seeds scooped out
garlic cloves, peeled and tough part cut off
olive oil
fresh thyme sprigs
salt, pepper, brown sugar

Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange the squash halves open side up. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper, and brown sugar on the surface. Put a small clove of garlic in the reservoir where the seeds used to be. Cover the whole pan tightly with foil and bake for quite a while @ 375F until everything is soft and sweet. Let it cool and scoop out the flesh along with the garlic that will dissolve into the squash when you stir it.

Set oven to 425F. Stir the squash to blend it together just a tiny bit and add salt and pepper if needed. Spoon the squash into baking dish or dishes, generously arrange Camembert slices so that some squash is still left uncovered, scatter thyme sprigs on top, and bake until bubbly, and the rind is nice and charred.