This is a webcam of a watering hole in Botwsana. It’s supercool. You might not see anything right away, but it’s worth it if you wait. I saw elephants and zebras.

OK, the next opportunity I have to cook a nice dinner (probably this weekend), I am making this:

Butternut Squash, Sage, and Cheese Ravioli with Hazelnut Brown-Butter Sauce (adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine)

• a 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
• 2 T. fresh sage, chiffonaded
• 1 T. butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 oz cheese, grated (I’m trying to decide what kind; would Maytag bleu be good here? I’m also tossing around the idea of peccorino; there’s a new gourmet foods store in town that would be a good source)
• 1 recipe fresh pasta dough
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, lightly toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine

1. Preheat oven to 450F and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Make filling: Put squash halves, flesh sides down, an baking sheet and roast in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until flesh is very tender. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh into a bowl and discard skin. Mash squash with a fork until smooth.
3. While squash is roasting, in a skillet cook onion and sage in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until onion is golden brown. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
4. Cool onion mixture slightly and add to squash. Add cheese and stir to combine well.
5. In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a gentle boil for ravioli.
6. Roll out pasta into long sheets.
7. Put filling in a pastry squirter (or do like I did until I got a pastry squirter as a wedding gift: put it in a zip-lock bag with the corner cut off) and squeeze a solid line down the center of a pasta sheet. Fold over and seal well. Pinch into approximately inch-long units, seal, and cut with a pastry rotary cutter.
8. Cook ravioli in 3 batches in gently boiling water 6 minutes, or until they rise to surface and are tender (do not let water boil vigorously once ravioli have been added). Carefully transfer ravioli as cooked with a slotted spoon to a large shallow baking pan and add enough cooking water to reach 1/2 inch up side of pan. Keep ravioli warm, covered.
9. Make sauce: In a small saucepan, brown the butter over medium heat until it is nutty-smelling and golden-brown. Add the wine and hazelnuts and let reduce slightly.
10. Transfer ravioli with a slotted spoon (letting excess cooking liquid drip off) to 6 plates and top with hazelnut brown-butter sauce.