Maybe this will make my dad happy

In case you've missed the sparkling comments by my father lately, here's his comment for my chopped liver entry: another disgusting looking recipe...make something more attractive...like the lovely challah...enough jewish foods...don't you make anything else?
dad

Always quick to my defense, Meredith wrote this in response: Wow. Don't judge the weird looking food, Mr. Borgen. Just because a food isn't pretty, or is Jewish in origin, doesn't mean it shouldn't get fair and balanced coverage. Power to ugly ethnic foods!!!

Thank you, Meredith. That's why we're such good friends. Despite my appreciation for your comments, sadly, I am out of ugly ethnic food for the moment. So, my dad wins this round as I move onto a Ruth Reichl dish named "Dottie's Spinach." I don't know who Dotty is. Ruth Reichl doesn't either. She said so.

I LOVE spinach. Especially cooked spinach. This is probably subconsciously a reaction to my mother who hates spinach. I just have to be contrary. But I can't help it. Spinach is so amazing. I've made this dish many many times and it always is gone within five minutes. It's not the healthiest way to cook spinach, but you will never receive a single complaint about it. I would bet even my mom would like it.

Dottie's Spinach
2 lbs spinach (or 3 10 oz bags....or as much spinach as you can get a handle on)
2 onions
1 head garlic (you read that right, one HEAD, not clove)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
12 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 stick butter (yeah, a whole stick - this recipe just gets better and better)

1. Wash the spinach well and drain it. Remove the coarse stems - I did this halfway and got tired. Whoops. It was still good. Cook over moderate heat until slight wilted, about one minute. If you have a lot of spinach, you may have to do this is batches.


2. Drain your spinach. When it's cool, squeeze out the excess water (you can use a paper towel if it's sturdy or a clean dish towel if you have one...I never do. Well, sometimes). Chop it if you're not lazy. I've chopped and not chopped - it's good both ways.


3. Melt the butter over moderate heat. Chop the onions (I used my food processor - love it) and cook in the butter until soft, about 8 minutes. Look how pretty it is.


4. Add the garlic and the cayenne pepper and cook until the garlic is soft, about another 2 minutes. See the nice red color? Amazing.


Once I added triple the cayenne pepper by accident. And I used broccoli instead of spinach. It wasn't as good, but Adam still ate it. He's a good eater. That's why he's always invited back. But anyways.

5. Add the spinach, cook for another few minutes.


6. Add the cheese! Oh I love this dish.


7. Add salt and pepper to taste - if you've used an oven proof skillet, you can just top everything with bread crumbs. I used whole wheat ones. You know, to make it healthy. Haha. If your skillet isn't oven proof, put the spinach mixture in a baking dish and top with the bread crumbs then.


8. Heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake until the mixture is golden brown and bubbling, about 20-25 minutes. I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish - and when I remembered, the vultures of Rosh Hashanah had eaten it all. It's that good. Sorry!