Laurie Colwin’s Creamed Spinach With Jalapeño Peppers

I adored Laurie Colwin and was devastated by her untimely demise. I was so pleased to see Jeff Gordinier write about her, and even more pleased and that he posted these wonderful recipes of hers. She was one of a kind--warm, funny, generous, and her stories about food are my favorites.

I only used 1 tbs butter, added more garlic, and two jalapeños. Fantastic winter dish!

More than 30 years ago, Laurie Colwin’s creamed spinach recipe was printed. I bought all the ingredients and promptly lost the recipe.I looked Laurie Colwin up in the phone book and explained my predicament. She said she would tell me the recipe if I bought her cookbook. I made the creamed spinach and have been making it every Thanksgiving since. I bought her cookbook and sent her the receipt with a thank you note. She sent me a lovely postcard, which I still have. What a special lady.

Use Monterey Pepper Jack cheese instead of plain it also helps to grate the cheese it incorporates better into the sauce. It's spicy so you can skip the jalapeno pepper.

I've made this many many many times with the following variations... I saute the onion and fresh jalapeño pepper in the butter, then add garlic, stir, and add the flour. Continue as recipe is written... instead of plain monterey jack, I use a good local pepper jack to amp up the heat. Also, I usually don't have celery salt around, and in that case add real celery with the onion and jalapeño and add a pinch or two of kosher salt.

This is a recipe I have used for years, out of The River Road Cookbook compiled by theJunior League of BatonRouge,La. an all time favorite of many a Southern cook. The NYT recipe is very close. It is rich, spicy and a definite brunch or even dinner addition. I do add the Worcestershire sauce as called for in the River Road recipe. You can play around with the garlic and spices to suit your own taste.

This would be the recipe that she famously said would make us "sit up and beg like a dog." And she was right. Soooo good!

This is very much like the South Louisiana recipe in the River Road Cookbook called, “spinach Madeline “ a perennial favorite. I add the Worcestershire sauce as called for in the River Road cookbook. Delicious and rich.

I have been making this for 20 years. It is a wonderful accompaniment to Thanksgiving turkey. I always increase the heat, sometimes with a spoonful or two of Mrs. Renfro's green chile sauce, and skip the buttered bread crumbs so that the dish is beautifully green. So nice to savor creamed spinach that has an unexpected kick.

No need to add any cheese: just a few stray sprinkles on the top mixed with the breadcrumbs.

I, too, have been making this dish for decades. I have always subbed pepper jack cheese for the regular jack and omitted the jalapeño. The proof that it is a winner? It is almost impossible to not use a piece of crusty bread to wipe the last remnants from your plate.

Can't wait to make this again for Thanksgiving! Last year, we found our voracious dachshund, Don Carlo, standing on the table slurping down half of the bowl. Needless to say, we still ate what was left, and it was delicious!

Is it possible that you didn't squeeze the cooked spinach till it was ultra-dry before adding that cup back in? The problem of retained spinach water is one that I got tired of trying to solve, which is why I now saute my greens instead of steaming or boiling them then trying to get rid of all that liquid.

I used some banana pepper pickle juice and lots of fresh with a little frozen spinach. Before it went into the oven I was super wowed by the taste. Coming out I wasn’t as impressed. Might use the broiler after baking in the enameled cast iron for 10 min to brown the bread crumbs (I used panko) next time.

From a cooking camp, collective review:
-kids don't like it very much
-too much spinach
-flavorless
-not a lot of product with work done
-not enough pepper which goes with flavor problem
-"dead"
-the jack cheese wasn't the most flavorful