Creamy Parmesan Spinach Bake

We moved into the Wallingford house on Saturday, January 18. Moving day. The day the Capitol Hill condo stopped being home and the Wallingford Craftsman started. James's timeline held: movers at 8 AM, loaded by noon, unloaded by 4 PM. Kevin drove up from Portland at 6 AM and carried boxes for eight hours straight — he is stronger than he looks, wiry and determined, fueled by Bridge City Roasters and the desire to be useful. David supervised from a lawn chair in the driveway, directing movers with the calm authority of a retired Boeing engineer overseeing a cargo operation. Karen stayed in the car with Hana, both of them watching through the windshield, both of them patient.

I carried the last box myself. The box contained: the Le Creuset Dutch oven, Karen's cast iron skillet, Jisoo's photo, and the first jar of kimchi I made in Seattle seven years ago — long emptied, long cleaned, kept as a vessel, kept as a memory. I carried the box through the front door. I set it on the kitchen counter — the Carrara marble, the counter that rhymes with Jisoo's. I looked around the kitchen. The six-burner Bluestar. The fermenting station with the three onggi pots. The cookbook shelf. The island. The window above the sink, through which I could see the maple tree in the backyard, bare in January, promising green.

Hana walked into the kitchen. She walked in on her own — not carried, not crawling, walking, one year and three days old, walking into the kitchen that was built for her. She walked to the island. She put her hands on the marble. She looked up at me. She said, "Ma-ma." She said it in the kitchen. She said it in her kitchen. I picked her up. I held her against the marble counter. I said, "Welcome home, Hana." She said, "Da!" She said it to the window, to the maple tree, to the light coming through. She said it to everything. She said it the way she says everything: with approval. The kitchen is approved. The home is approved. We are home.

The recipe this week is the first full dinner in the Wallingford kitchen: doenjang jjigae (of course), steamed rice, seasoned spinach, and pan-fried tofu. A simple Korean dinner, nothing elaborate, nothing performative. Just food, in a kitchen, for a family. Hana ate at the island — in her highchair, pulled up to the counter, eating rice and tofu with her silver spoon from Jisoo. James ate at the island. I ate at the island. The three of us, at the counter, in the kitchen, in the house. Home. Finally, fully, irrevocably home.

The seasoned spinach I made that first night in Wallingford was sigeumchi namul — blanched, squeezed, dressed with sesame oil and garlic — the simplest thing, and somehow the most grounding. Not everyone has sigeumchi namul in their rotation, but everyone deserves a spinach dish that feels like that: warm, rich, finished. This Creamy Parmesan Spinach Bake is the version I’d make for a crowd, or for a night when you want something that fills the kitchen with the smell of a home already lived in. It’s the dish I’d put on the Bluestar for the first time if I were cooking for James’s parents, or Kevin, or anyone who showed up with boxes and stayed for dinner.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the baking dish

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Butter a 9x9-inch or similar 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
Squeeze the spinach thoroughly. Place the thawed spinach in a clean kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels and wring out as much liquid as possible. You want it very dry so the bake isn’t watery.
Make the creamy base. In a large bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, and milk until smooth. Add the garlic, onion powder, red pepper flakes (if using), salt, and black pepper. Mix well.
Fold in the spinach and cheese. Add the squeezed spinach and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan to the cream mixture. Stir until everything is evenly combined. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer and top. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top.
Bake until golden. Bake uncovered for 22—25 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling at the edges. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy Parmesan Spinach Bake — The Side Dish That Made the New Kitchen Feel Real