Chris's Week Forty-Six Recipe: New England Squash Pie

As told in my post Of Squash and Jalapeños, a previous experiment ended up in a lot of leftover roasted butternut squash. I decided to turn that squash into a pie and today, after our first big snowstorm of the season, seemed like a good day to make it. Pulling down my trusty 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook, I found the following recipe which is verbatim except for halving the salt.

Anybody have any idea why there's a tablespoon of melted butter in the recipe?

New England Squash Pie

Beat together:

1-3/4 c mashed squash (strain if necessary)

1/2 t salt

1-1/2 c milk

2 large eggs

1 c sugar

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t ginger

1 T melted butter

Pour into a 9 inch pie shell and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean.

Would I make this recipe again? Yes! The custard's not as flavorful as pumpkin pie, but has a nice, bright taste.

Addendum: I served this pie to Mom & Dad tonight with mixed results. Dad kept a piece for himself while Mom declined, saying it was ok, but not as good as pumpkin pie.