Creamed Spinach — The Side That Belongs at Every Table Worth Gathering Around

Christmas morning. Patrick up early, which he always is — the disease doesn't give him the option of sleeping in, though I've never heard him complain about it. He'd made coffee and was sitting in his chair by the woodstove when I came down, and for a moment before he heard me on the stairs I watched him from the doorway: my father, eighty-one years old, watching the fire, the lopsided star visible through the living room doorway. He has been here for every Christmas of my life and I don't take that for granted. I have learned, at great cost, not to take that for granted.

Margaret arrived on the 23rd and has been sleeping late and helping with small things and sitting at the kitchen table reading, which is how she recharges. She is not a ranch person — she never was — but she loves the ranch the way you love a language you grew up hearing: you can't speak it, but you recognize it, and it means something specific to you. She and Patrick have been having long conversations that I've only caught fragments of, and from those fragments I think they've been talking about our mother, which is a thing that happens more as Patrick gets older and the past becomes more present to him than the immediate.

Cole and Tara arrived at noon with June, who was wearing a red dress and was extremely interested in the tree. We put the presents under it specifically to redirect her attention, which worked for about four minutes. The afternoon was loud in the way that a house with an eighteen-month-old in a red dress is loud, and at some point I looked around the table — Patrick and Margaret and Cole and Tara and June and the remains of a good meal — and thought: this is what it was all for. All of it. This table.

The meal: roast beef tenderloin with horseradish cream, roasted potatoes, green beans with browned butter and toasted almonds, Parker House rolls that Margaret made from a recipe she found on her phone and that came out perfectly on the first try, Patrick's cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. We ate until there was nothing left and then we ate dessert, which was a yule log cake I'd made Thursday and which tasted better than it looked.

That meal—the tenderloin, the rolls Margaret pulled off on her first try, Patrick’s cranberry sauce making a second appearance—was the kind of dinner that asks every dish at the table to carry its weight. Creamed spinach is one of those sides I keep coming back to for exactly this occasion: it’s rich and unassuming and it belongs next to a good piece of beef the way a woodstove belongs in a ranch house. If you’re building a holiday table worth gathering around, this one earns its place every time.

Creamed Spinach

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh baby spinach (or two 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into pieces

Instructions

1. Wilt the spinach. If using fresh spinach, heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the spinach with just the water clinging to the leaves and cook, stirring, until fully wilted, about 2–3 minutes per batch. Transfer to a colander and press out as much liquid as possible. Roughly chop and set aside. If using frozen, skip this step.
2. Build the base. In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
3. Make the béchamel. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and garlic and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Slowly pour in the warm milk, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Add the heavy cream and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and beginning to thicken, about 3–4 minutes.
4. Add the cheese. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the cream cheese pieces until fully melted and incorporated. Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
5. Finish with spinach. Fold the prepared spinach into the cream sauce until evenly combined. Cook over low heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until everything is heated through and the spinach is coated in the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6. Serve. Transfer to a warm serving dish and serve immediately alongside roast beef tenderloin or your holiday main of choice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 220 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 310mg