Recipe Fridays: Super Supper Sunday #4

A little oddly spaced, this Sunday Supper was during my spring break, so I thought I wouldn’t need a ton of leftovers to work me through the week – but then I realized I planned on staying home all week to work on stuff and actually needed to eat… 

First, I dyed eggs and then silly me, almost immediately made deviled eggs out of them just to munch on – I love these suckers. 

For the dinner portion, I made ribs, roasted broccoli, and the best damn creamed spinach you’ll ever eat in your entire life. 

Here’s a closer shot of the ribs… cooked over very low and slow heat for a lil while… falling off the bone delicious with an amazing homemade BBQ sauce.  SO. GOOD.  Of course, that was an individual portion, and I finished that in one meal. 

This is maybe the 2nd time I’ve ever tried to make creamed spinach, but this was heaven, transcendental, and I will share with you the method further down the page, I promise.  AMAZING.  I was so thrilled with it, I was bragging to everyone…

And when a few days later, I realized I still needed food, I braised short ribs and added pasta to the pot after I skimmed off the fat, and just… nomnomnom (that’s roasted brussels sprouts in the top left of the plate). 

Deviled eggs – hard boil eggs; slice in half and remove yolks.  Mix yolks with Thousand Island dressing, scoop back into hollow egg whites.  (I actually used Dijon mustard, diced celery, pickle relish, a bit of mayo, diced red bell peppers, and diced onions, a bit of lemon juice.  I mix it up according to what’s in my fridge.)
Ribs – roasted on a rack in the oven so the fat just dripped off; basted in a quickie homemade BBQ sauce as it cooked in a 200-250 degree oven, then smothered in the same sauce.  Nice!
Roasted broccoli – same as always; 425 degrees with whole cloves of peeled garlic, roasted till it all smells fragrant and delicious. 
Braised short ribs + pasta – some combination of this recipe and this recipe; after the short ribs had been properly braised for over 3 hours, I took them out and skimmed most of the fat out, very carefully.  Meanwhile I’d cooked a little less than a pound of rotelle and reserved a scoop of the pasta water… In a separate pot, I made a quick roux (heated butter, then added a bit of flour and cooked it together until it was just turning brown and smelling lovely), which I added to the pot of sauce, stirring it around as it heated through, then added the pasta, tossed it together, added the scoop of pasta water, and then shredded the short ribs into the pot.  Mix that all around together in the pot, and voila, you have something amazing and delicious in your pot.  Mmm.  Pot o’goodness. 
Roasted brussels sprouts – as before, 400 degrees with lardons, simple and delicious.  Roast till fragrant. 
Creamed spinach – Here is the capper!  The real wonder of the day!  I’ve been practicing my roux, bechamel, and I’ll be starting on other master sauces soon as well (I am reading Ma Vie en France; can you tell?), but this really pushed me over the edge and made me swoon.  I mean, you have to like garlic, but damn this is good stuff.

5 cloves of garlic
heavy cream
unsalted butter
flour (I used all purpose, but any kind is probably fine)
thawed box of chopped spinach

Melt butter in a saucepan.  Grate garlic into butter as it heats.  (Yes, that’s bolded cuz I consider it the ‘secret’ step.)  DO NOT BROWN THE GARLIC!!!  Add flour; cook the flour a bit until it’s been incorporated thoroughly into the butter.  Add heavy cream (more if you like your creamed spinach a lil creamy/soupy, less if you like it ‘tighter’); when it starts to form tiny lil bubbles, add the spinach in and stir until it’s mixed well.  If it’s a lil too ‘hard’ for you, add more cream as you go. 

OMG.  I’m not going to lie.  This is not delicately fragranced with garlic; this is in your face, slap you twice garlic flavor, with a creamy backdrop of spinach – packed with more garlic flavor.  WOW.  I love it.  I will make this repeatedly until the day I die, I am positive.  Awesome. 

I love these Super Supper Sundays for all that I am learning and practicing, and trying to expand my repertoire but also for perfecting things I already like to make and eat.  NOM! 

Happy eating!!! 🙂