Complete your holiday spread with a festive, satiating winter squash.

Nothing elevates a winter celebration, or even a nice dinner at home, quite like a beautifully-plated, stuffed winter squash.

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Unlike summer squash, which are tender and harvested before ripening, winter squashes -- which include dozens of diverse, colorful varieties from acorn to turban -- have tough rinds, mature seeds, and are usually baked. Scooping out the seeds offers a perfect cavity for filling as the squash bakes to exquisite tenderness along with its stuffing. While plant-based roasts are a popular choice for those eschewing meat, a stuffed winter squash can offer a delicious, whole-food alternative.

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Pumpkins may be the most famous of what are loosely called winter squashes, but within the gourd genus, there is an enticing range of shapes, colors, textures and flavors -- from the large, peach-hued butternut to the striped delicata, red-orange kuri, and the dark green kabocha squash.

With the exception of spaghetti squash (characterized by flesh reminiscent of spaghetti noodles when cooked and scraped out with a fork), the flesh of most winter squashes is firm and maintains its dense texture in cooking. Roasting a winter squash will add to its natural sweetness and it's something anyone can enjoy. As Jamie Oliver says about his festive squash recipe, "Whether you're veggie, vegan or a meat-eater, this is something you're going to love."

When shopping for winter squash, "choose one that feels heavy for its size ... but keep in mind that hollow squashes, like pumpkins, can look deceivingly large," Mari Uyehara writes for Serious Eats. "They yield much less flesh than a solid squash of the same size," she explains.

You'll want to opt for a squash that has a firm exterior without cracks or soft spots. It should be smooth (other than ones like the aptly named Red Warty Thing squash) and have a matte, thick skin that cannot be pierced with a fingernail. If it is shiny or has a thin skin, it is likely not mature and can ripen longer in a sunny spot.

If it's moldy near the stem or has tender areas, it is overly ripe. If you have a ripe winter squash but you're not ready to use it yet, store it in a cool, dark area of your home. Some squashes can last for several months, but check to make sure they haven't gotten over-ripened. For the best flavor, enjoy your winter squash within a month after ripening.

It can feel daunting to slice into something so thick, wobbly, and dense, but as Uyehara notes, "all squash are pretty similar, so if you've worked with one kind of squash, working with a new one won't be all that different."

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When preparing your winter squash, scrub it clean and reach for your sharp, serrated, 10-to-12-inch knife. A large cutting board on a flat, stable surface is highly recommended.

Peeling through the thick rind might be helpful for cutting, though this is not recommended for stuffed squashes. For squashes with thick stems, like butternut and acorn, cut a small bit off the stem end and the bottom before slicing down the middle and scooping out the seeds. Some find that microwaving a clean, pierced winter squash on high for three-to-five minutes depending on size is the best way to soften it for slicing.

Prepare a festive, celebration-worthy winter squash with these eight recipes.

Jamie Oliver | Facebook

British chef Jamie Oliver has a gorgeous stuffed winter squash with fresh mint sauce recipe that would be stunning on any table, and includes some nice shortcuts, like packets of prepared, mixed grains, as well as a quick but handy tutorial on cutting a squash for baking.

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Elizabeth Newman | Giadzy

Foodie extraordinaire Giada De Laurentiis combines stunning delicata squashes with a flavorful, vegetable-rich wild rice stuffing to combine two seasonal favorites in one delicious recipe for what she considers a hearty main entrée.

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Little, Brown

Leave it to none other than famed restaurateur, recipe developer, and cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz to know her way around a winter squash. In this recipe, Moskowitz shows you how to enhance the flavors and textures of winter squash with complementary and contrasting sweetness, savoriness, softness, and crunchiness. With this masterpiece of a recipe, "the big guys are covered (Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas), but so are St. Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl," the author declares. If you want menu-planning inspiration for any season, it's got you."

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Classic Bolognese is given the plant-based treatment in this meatless reimagining of the Italian dish featuring mushroom-lentil Bolognese sauce served atop tender, fluffy spaghetti squash boats.

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Simon Smith

An explosion of flavors and textures with a deceptively easy, elegant presentation, Gaz Oakley's take on the centerpiece meal will impress even the most skeptical omnivores at your holiday table. Yes, you carve slices for serving, but no one will mistake this for turkey. Not a bad thing!

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Chef Bai

A smaller, sweeter cultivar of butternut, honeynut squash is stuffed with flavors of the Mediterranean for a fresh, unforgettable main dish that offers a new way of savoring a classic.

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Alexandra Shytsman

Of course, squash can get stuffed inside things as well. If you cannot resist puff pastry, especially around the holidays (and who among us can?), try this show-stopper roll that will make you remember that winter produce can keep us warm and happy on cold evenings.

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Are you ready to just cut to the chase and carb load? This is the recipe for you; creamy, easy and full of flavor (including crunchy, nutritious pumpkin seeds), this risotto is pure comfort food any night of the week.

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