It has been eleven years since my first “cooking date” with my grandma Ga. Time flies.
I remember so well the kitchen in her apartment. She never let the building upgrade it – in 50 years. Everything had its place, namely the tin receptacles for leftovers, enormous jars of mayonnaise, and cooked bacon wrapped in aluminum foil left on the counter.
I love this picture.
In this kitchen, Ga and I had several cooking sessions.
We had a lofty list of her favorite recipes to discuss and make; you can read about it here. I don’t remember her making Creamed Spinach when I was growing up, but she put it on the list.
It was a good call. Maybe one of those “you will appreciate this when you are older” moments.
Appreciated.
I generally don’t need to add anything to vegetables, but in this recipe, a bit of chicken bouillon and some grated nutmeg are an easy way to add a little depth and flavor to greens. Because the recipe calls for frozen spinach, you can always be ready to make this recipe with a few staple pantry and fridge ingredients.
Like with the recipe for Ga’s Brownies, during our cooking session, I panicked and scribbled down the instructions as fast as I could, resulting in this amazingness:
When I went through her recipe file, I was surprised (and a little relieved) to find that the recipe had actually come ingredient-for-ingredient from a newspaper clipping.
There is no attribution on this clipping, but I had a hunch it was from the Chicago Tribune. A quick search for “Chicago Tribune creamed spinach” produced this article – revealing that my grandma’s Creamed Spinach is … a copycat recipe for the Berghoff Restaurant’s famous dish! Nice find, Ga! {Note, Ga would be completely consternated that I was able to find this recipe online, because it was already in her recipe file.}
*gets up and returns recipe to “S” slot of Ga’s accordion file, because I can feel her getting antsy that it’s not back in its place*
I made the recipe just a wee bit healthier by using skim milk and less butter and flour. Ga would probably not approve – she never understood healthy shortcuts. 🙂
She just understood passion for family and for eating. You could say she had her priorities straight.
Add some brisket and roasted potatoes, and you have a complete meal! This is a great meal for company, because – as I make it – brisket is made the day before and heated through when you are ready to serve it; if you roast the potatoes while the brisket is in the oven, you will have a nice window to clean up, set the table, and throw together this Creamed Spinach side dish. Enjoy!
- 16 - 20 oz frozen spinach (I like to use whole leaf, but you can use chopped as well)
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 1 small onion (yellow, white, or sweet), finely chopped
- 2 T flour
- 1 c skim milk
- 1 t granulated chicken base, or 1 cube chicken bouillon
- .25 t freshly grated nutmeg (or already-grated nutmeg)
- .25 t freshly ground white pepper
- Defrost the spinach in the microwave or on the stove using directions on the package, and wring as much water as you can from it. I line a colander or strainer with 2 layers of paper towel, add the spinach, and press/wring out the water.
- You can start the cream sauce while the spinach is defrosting. Heat a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, and when it is melted, add the chopped onion. Saute until the onion gets tender.
- Add the flour and grab a whisk; cook for 30-45 seconds, whisking constantly.
- Add the milk and lower the temperature, and continue to whisk.
- After about a minute, add the chicken base or bouillon, nutmeg, and pepper.
- The mixture should come to a boil and thicken within about 2-3 minutes. If you used a bouillon cube and it hasn't completely dissolved, remove the remaining chunk.
- Add the spinach to the skillet, and stir to distribute evenly. Cook until the spinach it heated through.
The original recipe calls for salt, but I find the chicken base or bouillon to be salty enough. You can always serve salt on the side if you have guests with that type of palate.
![Creamed Spinach by My Utensil Crock](http://www.myutensilcrock.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Creamed-Spinach-51-1024x685.jpg)
Miss you, Ga.
Tell me what you think!