Roasted Butternut Squash, Carmelized Onion, Goat Cheese and (optional) Bacon Tart

This is a recipe I made up after scrolling through Pinterest and not finding just the right appetizer for this year's Thanksgiving. It came out so delicious that I wanted to share it here. It takes some time to make, but doesn't require much actual work. The recipe makes 2 tarts. For my vegetarian/omnivore family I would do one with bacon and one without. You can make the onions and squash ahead of time and then just bake the tart prior to your event. It would also keep overnight, and makes EXCELLENT leftovers. Though if your guests know what's up, there won't be any.

Ingredients

1 onion (red or yellow)
1 tbsp butter

1 butternut squash
olive oil
salt & pepper
sage & garlic powder

2 cans crescent roll dough (or crescent roll sheets)
8 ounces goat cheese (two small tubes)
6 slices pepper bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Carmelize the onion. Follow the directions here. Basically: Peel and slice the onion into strips. Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes. Continue cooking low and slow until the onions have fully carmelized. You can make a bigger batch as long as you're making them, and use them later for sandwhiches, pizza, etc.

3. While the onions cook, prepare and roast the butternut squash. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Cut the top and bottom off, and cut the bulb from the neck. cut each piece lengthwise. Remove the seeds and stringy guts. I like to use a grapefruit spoon. Dice into 1/4" to 1/2" cubes. Toss in olive oil and season with salt, pepper, sage, and garlic powder. arrange on cookie sheets in a single layer and roast for 25-35 minutes, or until tender. Depending on the size of your squash, you may end up with extra - it would be great with some quinoa and black beans, or as a first food for baby!

4. You can store the squash and onion until later, or continue on immediately. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

5. To assmeble the tart, unroll one crescent dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Pinch the seams to secure. Down the center one-third of the sheet, arrange the squash and onion until it looks like it's a good dough-to-filling ratio, as well as 4 ounces of goat cheese and 3 slices of bacon (both crumbled). On each side of the filling, slice strips. Alternately wrap the strips around the filling, creating a braided effect. Seal off the ends. Repeat with the second can of crescent rolls.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.