(121) Spinach Gratin

In my book this recipe is hands down the winner of my Christmas meals!! OH HOLY GOODNESS!! I wanted to eat this and not much else. I thought I had ruined it after I added the salt. It calls for a full Tablespoon. I put half of that in there and it was SALTY. But it sat in the fridge while we went to church on Christmas Eve. Then we came home and I baked it. VOILA. Not salty at all - just right! So try a teaspoon or a tsp and a half. You can always salt it on your plate after you serve it!

Also, we used plain swiss instead of Gruyere. Gruyere cost a fortune ($12 for a small square at my grocery store!) and maybe I'm cheap, but I went for swiss. It was still delish! This is a recipe I see getting repeated often.

PS: This seems to yield 12 (or more) servings, not 8.

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Spinach Gratin

Source: Barefoot Contessa Parties
Yield: 8 servings (but to me, more like 12+!)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
3 pounds frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (5 (10-ounce) packages)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the spinach to a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyere on top. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve hot.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

May your table be full of good food, good company, and wonderful memories!

(109) Stacey's Sausage Stuffing

This comes from Stacey who was kind enough to share the recipe with me! She told me that it is "so good and so easy" and that she was excited for Thanksgiving to get here so she could hog on it :) After having made it, I can't say that I blame her!! She gave me her roundabout way of making it, but I'm going to try to write out exactly how I did it! I tested it today because I hated the idea of making a totally new recipe with an audience of 25 people! eek!

This makes a full 13x9" pan. I used only 8 oz of mushrooms, but I think for Thanksgiving, I'm going to use 16oz because the mushrooms are SO GOOD in this!

1/2 lb mild sausage (bulk - the kind in the tube)
1/2 lb hot sausage (again, bulk - the breakfast kind!)
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter
16 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
14 oz bag of cubed herb stuffing (Pepperidge Farms)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
handful of chopped sage (I used about 5 or 6 leaves)
handful of chopped fresh parsley (I used a few pinches of dried)
cracked black pepper - to your personal liking (I forgot this step! oops! I will probably use about 1/4 tsp next time I make it)

1) Cook the sausages in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Chop up with your spatula so you don't have too many big hunks of sausage. [Stacey says she runs hers through the food processor!] Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon & place in a bowl. Wipe grease from skillet.

2) Melt 3-4 Tbsp of butter in skillet. Saute onions and celery until translucent and tender. Add mushrooms and saute until softened.

3) Place stuffing cubes in a large bowl. Soften the cubes with 1c water and 1c chicken broth. Add the onion/celery/mushroom mix and sausage to the stuffing cubes. Add the sage, parsley, and black pepper. Stir with a big spoon or use your hands to combine. Gradually add the remaining 1c of broth  until the stuffing is wet. (you can use even more water after this if you think you need it. I only needed the 3c liquid)

4) Spoon stuffing into a 13x9" pan sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (until browned and crispy on top). Enjoy!