Friends–I’ve been staring at this blank screen wondering what to write for hours now, as I’m just not in the blogging mood today.  Work has got me down, which is permeating into other aspects of my life, including my blogging.  I’m sorry about that.

What I really want to say about this side is short and sweet:  I tried it at the Lea’s when Mrs. Lea made it to accompany a steak, and it was amazing.  Drool-worthy, mouthwatering, delicious.  I immediately had to have the recipe and made it the following night with steak and crab dip.  Guess what?  I didn’t even have the steak of crab dip, just a huge bowl of this.  If you want to get a group of boys to eat spinach, make this dish.  Trust me.  I did it.  And they liked it.

Enjoy this–it will change your mind about spinach.

Gruyere Creamed Spinach Au Gratin

Serves 6-8 as a side

Recipe adapted from Group Recipes

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, divided

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

1 cup half-and-half plus more if you need to thin it out

4 oz. Gruyere, shredded

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 packages frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Topping:

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

1/4 cup day-old bread, cut into cubes

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium pan over medium-high heat, melt two tablespoons of butter.  Once melted, add the onions and cook until translucent and tender.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about two-three minutes.  Turn the heat off and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until smooth and incorporated.  Add the half-and-half and whisk until thickened.  Add the Gruyere and mix with a rubber spatula until incorporated.  At this point, if your sauce is too thick, thin it out with additional half-and-half.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the onion mixture to the cheese sauce and stir to incorporate.  Add the spinach and mix until the spinach is well dispersed.  Put into a buttered casserole dish.

In a small box, mix the bread crumbs and the Parmesan.  Sprinkle over top of the spinach mixture.  Drop the butter cubes over top of the topping.  Bake until the top is golden and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!