Creamed Spinach

If you have not entered the giveaway for John Besh's "My New Orleans-The Cookbook," there is still plenty of time to do so.

PROBLEM: There are so many holiday recipes to try and only 2 of us to eat them making it wasteful to cook everything I want to cook for Thanksgiving (and Christmas).

SOLUTION: Stretch Thanksgiving meals out over the entire week. :) Yay! I can have my cake and eat it too.

Yesterday I made Creamed Spinach. Tonight I make Pumpkin Soup with Crabmeat. Tomorrow I will be making Shrimp and Mirliton Dressing IF I can find the mirlitons (still have to check Winn Dixie).

With all this food you bet I am having to exercise. To add to my Holiday anxiety, I had a job interview for a job that could really change my life in a positive way. So how do you think I handled this very important interview? I got extremely nervous and I babbled like a Thanksgiving turkey trying to talk its way out of becoming dinner.  I babbled and babbled and now I am stressing SO BAD waiting to hear back from them.  I really need this job.  I cannot even imagine hearing the words "we went with someone else" but I try to prepare myself for those very words.  Would you hire a babbling turkey? SOOOO.  I cook and I exercise obsessively to try and make the time pass. 

 I was up at 6 AM this morning running.  Don't you hate that feeling when you first wake up and realize it wasn't a bad dream.  Your worries are real.  I hate that.  Where are those badly needed endorphins?  I ran for 40 minutes and then increased the incline to 10% to work my glutes.  I might not get a job but maybe, just maybe, I could get a Denver butt.  Right now, I only do 5 minutes on the incline and that has me sweating bullets. 

You may have noticed that I never put my times.  That is because my free treadmill is WAY off.  At least I hope it is off.  Either it is off or I have really slowed down in my old age and that is a scary thought.  I was walking an easy 3.4 and now my treadmill has me jogging at full tilt at 3.4.  Could this be right.  Is my walk now one of those old people shuffles?  Does it take me 10 minutes to shuffle across the street?  Please say no!!  I go with the treadmill is off and I don't care because it was free.  One day I will get out there and run in the druggie street and time myself and then the truth will be out.

Back to creamed spinach.  I used the Spinach Madeleine recipe from "My New Orleans-The Cookbook" but then changed things up as I seem to be compelled to do.  It' a rare day when I actually follow a recipe word for word.



Creamed Spinach

4 tbsp olive oil  (or you can use butter)

2 minced shallots

1 minced clove of garlic

2 tbsp flour

2 lbs spinach

1/2 cup skimmed half and half (or you can use heavy cream)

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp Worcestershire

2 cups mascarpone cheese (or you can use Creole cream cheese if you can find it)

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook garlic and shallots in olive oil. Add flour, cook 2-3 minutes.  Add spinach and wilt.  Add cream, black pepper, celery salt, cayenne, and Worcestershire.  Cook 5 more minutes.

Add mascarpone, melt.  Spoon into baking pan.  Grate parmesan cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes.



YUM!!

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