What is your favorite way way to make it.

Don't know if you would call it a casserole or not, but I like yellow squash smothered down with onions, all fried in bacon grease. A little garlic and salt and pepper. I also like slices of yellow squash rolled in my fish meal and deep fried. miles

I don't really have a recipe, but I parboil the slices of yellow squash, then layer them with thin sliced onion and crumbled crisp bacon. Build up several layers with a good Bechamel sauce between the layers. Sometimes I add in shredded Cheddar cheese as well.
Top with bread crumbs, and more crumbled bacon. Bake at 350F

Yup! Sam nails it again.

I do use a couple of eggs and some fresh light cream. Definitely, grated cheddar cheese. Lots of diced Vidalia onion.

For the topping I use Ritz (or any butter crackers) lightly tossed with melted butter and on occasion fresh grated parmesan. Maybe some panko.

These are the kinds of dishes that are best served with no recipe. Just imagination with a little of this/that here and there.

The key is to remove as much of the squash water as possible. I go through about 6 paper towels and some time in the fridge before assembling.

Sam, that sounds damn good with the bacon in there.. because I LOVE BACON.

Might have some accidentally fall into my recipe next time.

byc, you're absolutely right. Once you get the hang of this recipe, the world is your oyster.

Eggs, some sort of creamy goodness, and getting as much water out of the fresh squash as possible are cornerstones.

You could make a case that every one of us could use a couple of professional courses in cooking.
Once you master, or at least understand several techniques, and you can cook many dishes without a recipe.
When you can work with, and understand what happens with eggs, dairy, flour, corn starch, gelatin, vegetables, meat, when you just KNOW what will happen when you add more of this, or less of that, then the kitchen is your huckleberry.
Watching TV cooks won't give you this info. You have to just do it. Time and time again.

Here is my mom's squash dressing ricipe.
3-4 cups cornbread
3-4 cups squash
1 large onion
1 green bell pepper
2 tbs butter
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 egg
1/2 - 1 cup chicken broth

Sweat down squash, onion and pepper. Crumble cornbread in a casserole dish. Combine cooked squash, cream of chicken soup, egg and broth, mix to your liking. I also like a lot of fresh cracked black pepper. Bake @ 350 45 min covered then uncovered last 15. It's good, real good

Ron, I am saving that. I really like how it sounds.

You can use milk instead of broth if you choose. Cream of mushroom soup is good also with a teaspoon of dried sage.

my plan would be to use a light Bechamel sauce, seasoned with my proprietary herb mix, and skip the store bought soup.
I avoid using Lipton Onion soup mix as well. <grin>

I would probably be going with Sam's Bechamel sauce, if I knew how to make it. hint hint.

Equal parts flour, butter, hot pan, make your roux (not browned, just enough to cook the flour taste out), add milk. Just like white breakfast gravy but no meat flavors.

Got it. Thanks, Sean. Easy peasy.

Just made new_2_99s russian cole slaw tonight.

Nice change from the ordinary.

Right on target. There are three types, normally mentioned. Thin, medium, thick. You get these by the amount of milk added to the base of butter and flour.
I like to season with a little salt (not much), black pepper (or white Pepper, depending on the final outcome wanted) and a little fresh grated Nutmeg. Lately, I have been substituting ground Mahleb for the Nutmeg.
Bechemel is of course, just one of the 5 French "mother" sauces. Mastery of these 5 will make you one up on most cooks.
Allemande, Bechemel, Veloute, Tomato and Espagnole. Heck, even of those, 4 out of 5 start with a roux. It's not complicated, but it is very interesting. And Tasty.

Ah-hah. Got it. Never knew the name. But, that's where my sausage gravy starts, just before I hit it with a really good grind of black pepper.

A lot of roux's I make start here, but usually have some kind of meat drippings or stock go in the pan, too.

Sam, where'd you get the Mahleb? I'm not seeing it on Penzey's website.?

ordered it from Penzeys. It has been in their catalog for months now. Should be on the web site too.

Sam, just found it on their site after googling Mahleb. They spell it differently (Mahlab).

it's one of them foreign words. Who knew?

I know. Right?

Apparently, it is originally Greek. which only serves to reason in this case, because all the cities and towns in Greece are spelled like four different ways.

found that out the hard way when we were trying to figure out where the hell we were when we were over there. Maps says one thing, street signs and road signs say another. both are talking about the same place!

last time we were there, we flew in to Thessaloniki from Frankfort. Took a taxi from the airport to Xanthi. It was late at night, and the driver was running over 200 KPH on two lane mountain roads. He would pass uphill, on curves. That was about as frightened as I have ever been in a car. Greeks drive like maniacs.

Sam, you are absolutely right about that! They may well be the kings of the maniacs in Europe!

We were going from Athens airport to Syntagma square, where we'd then catch a cab down into the Plaka (city center, no car zone - just below the Acropolis). We were in an accordion bus doing ~ 80 mph.

The ride back to the airport at the end of our trip in a 550/560 Mercedes at 5:30 a.m. was equally nuts. Mind you, The Athens airport is outside the city. When I looked over from the passenger side front seat, we were doing 135-140 kph. Driver looked over and smiled. Meanwhile, halfway to airport and still O'dark thirty, a Porsche and Beemer were out to play and passed us like we were standing still. Those Greek phugggers are crazy!