Day 336: Spinach Gratin

 Good morning!  I know I'm late, so this will be a quick post!

 Spinach Gratin
12" dutch oven

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
4 cups minced yellow onions, about 2 large onions
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
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 or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1/2 tablespoon table salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere, Swiss or Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a 12" dutch oven over a full spread of coals. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 more minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook, stirring often and quickly, 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 the salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyere (or Swiss or Parmesan, if using) on top. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve hot.  Serves 8-10.

The Finished Product

The Review

Normally I really like spinach.  But I have to say that we really didn't like this at all.  I've never made creamed spinach before so I followed the directions exactly, and it just wasn't very good.  I know I've mentioned the one bite rule we have at our house.  Well, it very rarely applies to me, but it did with this.  I wish I'd had my video camera on when I made my kids take their one bite.  There were faces, gags, and even a few dry heaves.  I thought my 14 year old son was literally going to barf.  It was pretty funny.  Now if you're a spinach lover, please try this, you may love it.  I think some of the problem was that there wasn't enough of the cream sauce (or maybe I let it get to thick) and it just tasted like spinach and onions.  I may give this another try to see if the problem was operator error.  For now I give this a D, but I may upgrade it if I try it again with better results.