Improv in the Kitchen: Creamed Spinach

Sometimes a good meal is just gathering together the ingredients you have on hand and playing around with them. If you have some basic techniques under your belt, the experiments are successes. Don't worry...sometimes they're not. (I've had my share of Frankenstein recipes gone bad.) Just try, try again.

The other night, with spinach on hand and inspired by the basic cream sauce from these delicious potatoes, I came up with my own version of creamed spinach. It was so good that I thought I would pass it on. (And write it down for myself so I'd remember what I'd done!)

Creamed Spinach

1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup white wine
8 cups baby spinach
Grated nutmeg
Salt
Pepper

In a medium pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes.

In a measuring cup, whisk the flour and milk together. Pour into the onion mixture and stir constantly until thick, about 2 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese and wine and heat for one minute. Stir in the spinach and continue stirring until mixture is well-combined and spinach is just wilted, about three minutes. Add a grating of fresh nutmeg (always good with spinach) and salt and pepper to taste.

It's ready to eat now, but if you really want to make it spectacular, pour spinach into a baking or gratin dish and top with 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes or until bread crumbs are golden.

Enjoy!