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I like it sliced thinly or julienned in a slaw.

I have nightmares about chayotes, thanks to a mother that forced us to eat them as kids!

My loving Grandma peels and boils them, slices them in half add a slice of either chihuahua cheese, queso fresco or panela, covers them in egg batter and deep fries them. Then she serves them in a tomato sauce paired with white rice.

I hate chayotes but the way she makes them is the only way I'll eat them. The real trick though I believe is in the sauce, which is like a marinara, but it has olives in it, who know someday she'll pass the recipe down ;)

I forgot to say she slices them lengthwise and puts the cheese in between as if making a sandwich

I used it in a Mexican beef stew once, and it was delicious! I can't remember where I got the recipe, though! I guess it was maybe used in place of potatoes, but it kept its shape and didn't get all mushy.

I had chayote at a restaurant recently. I think it was steamed and then sauteed.

Don't throw out the chayote seed. It's yummy!

my mom usually slices it until they look like chayote fries, then stir-fries it with fish sauce, little dried shrimp, and sometimes meat. usually sliced fish or shrimp balls. i love it! total asian mom home cooking there.

I've had it cut up in a caldo de pollo (chicken soup) with other big BIG chunks of veggies.

Chayote is essential in any and all soups! The flavor is subtle and it stays crisp if you don't overcook - adds great texture.

They make my hands peel--weird! So, I use summer squash in their place.

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Sorry about the 'test' above. I was trying to post earlier and could not do it!
Ok, being Brazilian we eat lots of Chayote. Stew with shrimp is my fav. Also in a mayo salad, together with potatoes, boiled eggs and carrots, all diced.
And about the hands peel (ValHalla)..we need a bowl of water while we are peeling it. Also try to scrub the 2 sides together before peeling it.

My husband puts chayote in green pork stew. I put it in Weight Watchers zero point soup. My auntie steamed them and mashed them with cornbread and shrimp at Christmas for a stuffing. Check out Diana Kennedy's recipe for green pork stew, it a cold weather stew.

People in South Louisiana call them mirlitons, and here's how my mom used to cook them: Boiled whole, peeling on, till quite tender. Halve, scoop out the quite soft flesh, add to a pan where you've been sauteeing "the holy trinity" of seasoning veg (onion, celery, bell pepper), a few chopped scallions, a bit of garlic. Salt, pepper, cayenne (just a little at first), and then -- and then -- seafood, either shrimp or white lump crabmeat. Mix, heat through, then turn into a buttered casserole dish, top with buttered crumbs and bake just until brown on top. Heaven. You'll find a "real" recipe at the Food Network site; search for stuffed mirliton or stuffed chayote.

hmmm... chayotte... aka chuchu in Brazil. My mom makes a lovely souffle with some of that and carrots and regular squash... made like any other veggie souffle, I believe.

Its also sliced thinly and steamed or boiled for about 20 minutes in salty water, then mixed with fresh parsley and thinly sliced onions and seasoned with salt, pepper and lime juice for a refreshing salad. Tastes great with rice and beans.

Plant the whole chayote in the ground - harvest the chayote tendrils and saute it with garlic and oil.

We Taiwanese call these fo shou gua, or Buddha's hand squash. My mom makes an AMAZING dish with the squash cut into chunks peeled and cooked until soft with chunks of codfish. My mom has verbally explained the recipe so many times, but I keep forgetting.

Until I saw one on sale at Whole Foods under the name chayote, I had no idea non-East-Asians ate these! Months later I saw them at a small South Asian market, where they were much cheaper. Now i have to call my mom again...