Holy cow....Spaghetti Squash Gratin. Amazingly delicious.

Okay, maybe one of my best "made up" recipes ever.  First of all, I should point out that I really do NOT like spaghetti squash.  Everyone says "Just use it like spaghetti", so I tried that and hated it.  I have always thought there was potential for something better and tonight I finally found out what it was.  We got a small (9" or so) spaghetti squash in our basket and somehow the idea of a gratin got into my head.  I had never even heard of using spaghetti squash that way so I looked it up online.  As it turns out there are a LOT of recipes online and all very different.  I read about 5 or 6 and then made up my own.  Here is how it went.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin
1 sm-medium spaghetti squash
1 shallot minced
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesian cheese
2 TBS Sour cream
2 TBS half and half
1 egg
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
2 TBS sharp cheddar cheese (finely shredded)
Topping:
Bread crumbs ( i used the large kind like you would use for stuffing)
butter

   First halve and de-seed your spaghetti squash.  I like to place mine (cut side down) on a microwave safe plate with a little water in it and microwave for about 10 minutes or until soft.  Set aside to cool. 
   In a small saute pan add some butter and saute your shallot until soft.  Set this aside also to cool. 
   In a large mixing bowl, add your ricotta, sour cream, half and half, and egg and mix together.  I then added my Thyme and parmesian cheese.  To this add your cooled shallot and spaghetti squash and mix until thoroughly combined.  Here is where I added a little shredded sharp Cheddar cheese and mix it in. 
   Butter a small to medium baking dish and fill with squash mixture. 
  Melt about two TBS of butter in a bowl and mix in your bread crumbs.  When thoroughly mixed add on top of your squash mixture and bake at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. 
   I have to say that this was delicious.  Not only did it taste great, but it looked really pretty too.  Too bad we still do not have a camera at home.  This would be great with some goat cheese, and I thought a little sweet corn mixed in would have been nice too.  It was very light and airy and not as heavy as you would think a gratin to be.  I HIGHLY recommed this as an alternative use for spaghetti squash.