Jan 4, 2010

New Year's Eve- Old People Style



Since I am a NYE-hater, and had to work all day, somehow I convinced Hubs to stay in for a football/steak date.  We enjoyed the last night with our tree, a delicious meal, and I stayed up til one o'clock which is normally an impossibilty for me unless out and about.  I was attempting to stave off any complaining from the Hubs about our old married people lifestyle.  It worked.. . . I think. 

Anyway, here's our tree (and me attempting to pose and feeling like an asshat).




Grass-fed rib eye, spinach Madeleine, roasted brussels, bottle of red.  Heaven.

Hubs really enjoyed the spinach which is from a cookbook which he gave me as a happy prize, My New Orleans, by John Besh.  It's an updated version of Spinach Madeleine from River Road recipes.  The original calls for a Kraft cheese roll, which is pretty much impossible to find.  The updated recipe utilizes fresher, less processed ingredients.

I used mascarpone and add some freshly grated parmesan, because that never hurt anybody :) I used 2 big boxes of fresh baby spinach. The end result was delicious, but a bit runny, so I would drain the spinach before adding the cream. Also, I used my big dutch oven, because the spinach takes up a lot of space before it wilts.




SPINACH MADELEINE (adapted from John Besh's My New Orleans)

4 T. butter
3 shallots, minced
2 clove garlic, minced
2 T. flour
2 pounds fresh spinach, well washed (or 2 pkgs. Frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¾ tsp celery salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 c. Mascarpone
1 1/2 cup of  freshly grated parmesan
Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Melt the butter in a lg. nonreactive, heavy-bottomed pot over moderate heat.

Add the shallots and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach to the pot and cook, stirring often, until the spinach is wilted, 3-5 minutes (It took me closer to ten). Drain spinach.  Add the cream, black pepper, celery salt, cayenne, and Worcestershire and cook for 5 more minutes.

2. Add the mascarpone and a cup of the parmesan, stirring it into the spinach as it melts. Season with salt. Spoon the spinach into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and bake for 20 minutes.

8 comments:

  1. We stayed in too this New Years. My husband likes it that way in fact I think my husband said it was his favorite. We went to bed before 1. What is this "happy prize" you talk about?

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  2. Happy New Year to you and yours!

    The spinach looks deeee-lish! I can't wait to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. So we had the exact same New Year's Eve :-).

    Normally I love fun NYE dinners with friends, but I had to work all day too and we just didn't feel like spending money this year, what with our "situation" and all... And it was actually kind of awesome! We drank our bubbly on the couch, ate some kick-ass food, did the traditional vodka cucumber shots... heck, I even read a few chapters before the ball dropped! Next year I'm sure I'll want to go all out again, but this year I was totally happy at home in my pjs.

    By the way, I'm absolutely making your spinach this week. I got Momofuku and both Canal House books for Christmas, but no My New Orleans - might just have to be a present to myself.

    Happy New Year Samma!

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  4. I love staying in on NYE--or just doing something simple if you're going out. That dinner looks superb!

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  5. I was pouting on MARTA/in the car on NYE after the chik-fil-a bow. I was not very exciting but that Spinach sounds heavenly and similar to the spinach from copper cellar that I love!

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  6. I wanted to stay in for NYE, but ended up going over to a friend's for a low-key night!

    Happy 2010!

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  7. Yuuum, that spinach sounds awesome.
    We stayed in too, and I went to bed as soon as the ball dropped. Maybe next year we'll add some friends in the mix but overall it was great.

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  8. Yum! I kinda wished we would have stayed in this year, too.

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