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Spaghetti squash is really fun. But don't go to the produce department looking for something that looks like spaghetti. The squash really resembles a small pale yellow watermelon. It's not until you cook it that it resembles spaghetti.

This is another recipe that introduces you to a new, "weird" ingredient and teaches you want it is, how to use it, and how flavorful it can be.

Here we pair the spaghetti squash with salmon. Salmon is such a versatile fish. You can poach it, broil it, bake it or grill it. You can buy steaks or fillets. Here we are using fillets and we're baking them in the oven.

Fillets or steaks - what's the difference? Think of steaks as being cut crosswise and including the backbone of the fish and the skin. Fillets are cut lengthwise and all bones are removed. Fillets sometimes have skin on them and sometimes not. You can always ask the fish guy or gal to remove the skin for you. They are used to doing this and it's a lot easier than doing it yourself at home.

It takes about an hour to cook the squash and you really can't do anything else until it's ready, so think about making it a day or two ahead. If you do that, then this dish goes together very quickly.

This is a pretty dish. The pink salmon against the yellow spaghetti squash. We add bright green asparagus to complete the picture. You'll learn how you can grill it on an outdoor grill or in a stove-top grill pan. For now I recommend using the stove-top grill pan to keep things easy. If you don't have one, you can just cook it in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil, following the same technique as for the stove-top grill pan.

This is a meal I always fall back on when I want something impressive for a quick, weeknight company meal.

At-Home Safe Food Handling *

* with permission from Kansas State University Research & Extension