Thread: ping ravenlynne: creamed spinach

On Dec 7, 10:03*am, sf <s...@geemail.com> wrote:
> I usually serve roasted winter vegetables (winter squash, brussels
> sprouts etc), but a classic with roast beef and YP is creamed spinach.
>
> Crescent City Creamed Spinach
> Ruth's Chris Steak House
>
> Yield: 4 servings
>
> 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
> 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
> 2 tablespoons chopped onion
> 1 small bay leaf
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
> 2 cups milk or half-and-half
> 1 pound fresh spinach, washed
> Salt
> Freshly ground black pepper
>

I can't imagine creamed spinach without nutmeg. And I'd use white
pepper instead of black.

On Dec 7, 10:03 am, sf <s...@geemail.com> wrote:
> I usually serve roasted winter vegetables (winter squash, brussels
> sprouts etc), but a classic with roast beef and YP is creamed spinach.
>
> Crescent City Creamed Spinach
> Ruth's Chris Steak House
> ....

My favorite is that served at Lawry's Prime Rib restaurants. I got
this recipe from the web but if I were making it I'd halve the bacon.
Bacon is great but too often used to excess, imho.

Creamed Spinach a la Lawry's

2 pkgs. (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 slices bacon
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
2 cups milk

Drain spinach well and squeeze out excess moisture with hands; chop
finely and set aside. Fry bacon in heavy skillet until crisp; remove,
drain and chop. Sauté onion and garlic in bacon drippings; add flour,
Seasoned Salt and pepper and blend thoroughly. Slowly add milk,
stirring constantly until thickened. Add spinach and bacon; heat.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Substituting bay leaf and maybe paprika for the seasoned salt should
work if you don't like such preparations, but Lawry's isn't bad. I
would not omit the garlic as Ruth's Chris does. -aem

On 12/7/2010 1:03 PM, sf wrote:
>
> I usually serve roasted winter vegetables (winter squash, brussels
> sprouts etc), but a classic with roast beef and YP is creamed spinach.
>
> Crescent City Creamed Spinach
> Ruth's Chris Steak House
>
> Yield: 4 servings
>
> 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
> 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
> 2 tablespoons chopped onion
> 1 small bay leaf
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
> 2 cups milk or half-and-half
> 1 pound fresh spinach, washed
> Salt
> Freshly ground black pepper
>
> In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat until foamy.
>
> Set aside remaining 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature.
>
> Add flour to melted butter; cook and stir until light brown. Add
> onion, bay leaf and salt, then whisk in milk. Cook, stirring, until
> mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes.
> Pass through a fine strainer, discarding solids. (The sauce will be
> thick.)
>
> Keep sauce warm until serving time.
>
> Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spinach; cook for 1 minute.
> Remove spinach; immediately immerse in ice water to stop cooking.
> Drain, then squeeze spinach dry. Chop finely or purée in a food
> processor; set aside.
>
> Just before serving, combine sauce and spinach in a saucepan. Rewarm
> spinach over low heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season to
> taste with salt and pepper, and then stir in softened butter.
>
>

YEah, no one here will eat creamed spinach, but thank you! I can only
sell spinach to them raw.

--
Currently reading: It's finals, what do you think I'm reading?

sf wrote:

> Crescent City Creamed Spinach
> Ruth's Chris Steak House
>
> Yield: 4 servings
>
> 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
> 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
> 2 tablespoons chopped onion
> 1 small bay leaf
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
> 2 cups milk or half-and-half
> 1 pound fresh spinach, washed
> Salt
> Freshly ground black pepper

Did you leave out the nutmeg??
I'm not sure about the bay leaf either.

On Tue, 7 Dec 2010 10:08:30 -0800 (PST), spamtrap1888
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I can't imagine creamed spinach without nutmeg.

I certainly can!

> And I'd use whitepepper instead of black.

That's ridiculous. If you're going to use pepper, you might as well
be able to recognize it.


--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Tue, 7 Dec 2010 10:20:09 -0800 (PST), aem <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Substituting bay leaf and maybe paprika for the seasoned salt should
> work if you don't like such preparations, but Lawry's isn't bad. I
> would not omit the garlic as Ruth's Chris does. -aem

Much agreement. I dislike seasoned salt and love garlic... I'd go
whole hog and use roasted garlic if I didn't use granulated.

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:28:20 -0500, ravenlynne
<[email protected]> wrote:

> YEah, no one here will eat creamed spinach, but thank you! I can only
> sell spinach to them raw.

No problem with eating spinach in my household, but roasting a few
vegetables is just so much simpler than making creamed spinach.



--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

sf wrote:
>
> I usually serve roasted winter vegetables (winter squash, brussels
> sprouts etc), but a classic with roast beef and YP is creamed spinach.
>
> Crescent City Creamed Spinach
> Ruth's Chris Steak House
>
> Yield: 4 servings
>
> 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
> 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
> 2 tablespoons chopped onion
> 1 small bay leaf
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
> 2 cups milk or half-and-half
> 1 pound fresh spinach, washed
> Salt
> Freshly ground black pepper
>
> In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat until foamy.
>
> Set aside remaining 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature.
>
> Add flour to melted butter; cook and stir until light brown. Add
> onion, bay leaf and salt, then whisk in milk. Cook, stirring, until
> mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes.
> Pass through a fine strainer, discarding solids. (The sauce will be
> thick.)
>
> Keep sauce warm until serving time.
>
> Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spinach; cook for 1 minute.
> Remove spinach; immediately immerse in ice water to stop cooking.
> Drain, then squeeze spinach dry. Chop finely or purée in a food
> processor; set aside.
>
> Just before serving, combine sauce and spinach in a saucepan. Rewarm
> spinach over low heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season to
> taste with salt and pepper, and then stir in softened butter.
>
> --
>
> Never trust a dog to watch your food.

Creamed spinach is a long time favorite of mine (yes, a kid who loved
creamed spinach). There are a lot of ways to do it seasoning wise, but
one thing I never do is boil the spinach, that step is pointless, a
waste of time and effort and prone to making watery creamed spinach.

What I do is make the beschamel sauce in whatever variant in a large
pan, then I add the raw spinach to that sauce and stir and cook it the
few minutes it takes to wilt and cook to a suitable soft state. This is
much less work, never produces a watery result, and is even healthier
since you aren't loosing any vitamins to the water in boiling.

On Tue 07 Dec 2010 03:26:42p, Goomba told us...

> sf wrote:
>
>> Crescent City Creamed Spinach
>> Ruth's Chris Steak House
>>
>> Yield: 4 servings
>>
>> 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
>> 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
>> 2 tablespoons chopped onion
>> 1 small bay leaf
>> 1/4 teaspoon salt
>> 2 cups milk or half-and-half
>> 1 pound fresh spinach, washed
>> Salt
>> Freshly ground black pepper
>
> Did you leave out the nutmeg??
> I'm not sure about the bay leaf either.
>

I love nutmeg, but not in creamed spinach (although I do like it on
pork roast). I could take or leave the bay leaf, but I would add a
bit of garlic. Having eaten the creamed spinach at Ruth's Chris, I
don't recall it having nutmeg in it.

A co-worker in my department is bringing an unusual creamed spinach
to our little Christmas potluck on the 22nd, and I'm looking forward
to trying it. I can't remember everything she said was in it, but I
do recall her mentioning somea amount of pureed fresh tomato and a
bit of ground cumin.

By request of another co-worker, I will be taking a baked corn and
green chili dish.

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

On 08 Dec 2010 04:11:58 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
<[email protected]> wrote:

> By request of another co-worker, I will be taking a baked corn and
> green chili dish.

I like it already!

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Tue 07 Dec 2010 09:54:29p, sf told us...

> On 08 Dec 2010 04:11:58 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> By request of another co-worker, I will be taking a baked corn and
>> green chili dish.
>
> I like it already!
>

It should be a nice potluck. There are only 12 people in my
department and all but 2 are rather good cooks/bakers. The latter
will provide drinks, plastic/paper products, etc.

The wife of our network engineer is a native of Thailand and is
sending in a platter of Thai fried chicken. I'm looking forward to
that as I know that she is an excellent cook. She and her husband
just returned from a 3 week trip to Thailand.

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

On 08 Dec 2010 12:15:08 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
<[email protected]> wrote:

> The wife of our network engineer is a native of Thailand and is
> sending in a platter of Thai fried chicken. I'm looking forward to
> that as I know that she is an excellent cook. She and her husband
> just returned from a 3 week trip to Thailand.

Thai fried chicken is a new concept to me, but it sounds interesting.
If you can weasel any information out of her about what makes it
different, please report back!

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:56:58 -0800, sf <[email protected]> wrote:


>Thai fried chicken is a new concept to me, but it sounds interesting.
>If you can weasel any information out of her about what makes it
>different, please report back!

There is a recipe on Chez Pim, which both Koko and I have made. I
think Koko even posted about it here.

http://chezpim.com/cook/thai-marinated

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com

On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:49:17 -0800, Christine Dabney
<[email protected]> wrote:

> On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:56:58 -0800, sf <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> >Thai fried chicken is a new concept to me, but it sounds interesting.
> >If you can weasel any information out of her about what makes it
> >different, please report back!
>
> There is a recipe on Chez Pim, which both Koko and I have made. I
> think Koko even posted about it here.
>
> http://chezpim.com/cook/thai-marinated
>

Thanks for the recipe.


--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Wed 08 Dec 2010 08:56:58a, sf told us...

> On 08 Dec 2010 12:15:08 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The wife of our network engineer is a native of Thailand and is
>> sending in a platter of Thai fried chicken. I'm looking forward
to
>> that as I know that she is an excellent cook. She and her husband
>> just returned from a 3 week trip to Thailand.
>
> Thai fried chicken is a new concept to me, but it sounds
interesting.
> If you can weasel any information out of her about what makes it
> different, please report back!
>

I work with her husband who is half Thai, and our potluck is on the
22nd. His wife is very sweet, and I'm sure she would be willing to
share the recipe, which I'll ask for at the potluck. I haven't yet
asked him what flavors she may be incorporating so it will be a
surprise to me, as well.

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright