ROUSES_NovDec2020_Magazine_Pages

Spinach Madeleine Serves 5-6

bigger-than-anticipated Thanksgiving crowd comes easy. And it’s a dish that feels, well, personal: There’s a local woman behind the recipe who shared it with the world so that your family could share it together. It’s a heartfelt meal that turns the simple into the extraor- dinary. (Plus, it’s a great way to get youngsters to eat vegetables.) The beloved spinach creation is so entwined in Louisiana food culture that not even the discontinuation of a key ingredients in 1999 — Kraft’s Jalapeño Cheese Roll — could stop the recipe’s omnipres- ence at potlucks and celebratory dinners. Instead (after calling the Kraft helpline to lodge their complaints, of course) people just got creative with re-creating the flavor and texture of the beloved roll in other ways, tweaking different balances of heat and meltiness to try to reach the perfect formula. By 2000 — sensing that a low-grade panic had gripped Spinach Madeleine devotees — the folks behind River Road Recipes released an “officially” updated recipe that replaced the jalapeño cheese roll with regular Kraft Velveeta cheese and a couple of tablespoons of chopped jalapeños, allowing those less interested in recipe tinkering to have a go-to preparation method. Today, cooking Spinach Madeleine in novel, outside-the-box styles reflects how, as much as the dish is a staple in its classic form, like any good piece of culture, it’s also keeping up with the times. There are vegan versions that use coconut cream and nutri- tional yeast for thickening, and iterations that now err on the side of pepper jack for the cheese component. Even fine dining chefs have gotten in on the act, with John Folse suggesting that, for extra holiday festivity, chopped red bell peppers could be added in with the sautéed onions. And whether you’re eating it the traditional way or trying a new approach, there’s something uniquely fulfilling about understanding where a dish originated and how it’s impacted lives for over 70 years. Ms. Wright passed away just a few short months ago, and I’d like to think that the best way to honor her memory — and the memory of everyone who gives a little piece of themselves through sharing recipes — would be by whipping up a Spinach Madeleine this year.

This spicy spinach dish is one of the most famous recipes in the River Road Recipes cookbook series. It was invented by St. Francisville, Louisiana, native Madeline Wright in 1956 and published three years later in the first edition of the cookbook. After Kraft’s jalapeño cheese roll — the key ingredient of the dish — was discontinued — the Junior League’s River Road Recipes committee came up with a feasible substitution: Kraft Velveeta® cheese and chopped jalapeño peppers.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 2 packages frozen chopped spinach

4 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons chopped onion ½ cup evaporated milk ½ cup vegetable liquor (the water from the spinach) 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon black pepper ¾ teaspoon celery salt ¾ teaspoon garlic salt Salt to taste 6 ounces Kraft Velveeta cheese, cut into small pieces 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeño peppers Red pepper to taste

“Spinach Madeleine is a new item that Rouses is offering this year. It is a classical, traditional South Louisiana dish that people make at holiday times. It’s a sautéed spinach with sweet onions, similar to creamed spinach. Locally, we usually add a lot of garlic and pepper jack cheese to it, and hit it with a touch of seafood seasoning. When we prepare it at Rouses, we even garnish it with extra shredded mozzarella on top, so that when customers get home it’s melted down and even creamier. This is our first time offering it as a holiday side, and we will start selling it in mid-November through New Year’s.” — Mike Westbrook, deli director for Rouses Markets HOW TO PREP: Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquor. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onion and cook until soft but not brown. Add all liquids slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook until smooth and thick; continue stirring. Add seasonings and pieces of cheese. Add jalapeños. Stir until cheese is melted. Combine with cooked spinach. This may be served immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs. The flavor is improved if the latter is done and it’s kept in the refrigerator overnight. This may also be frozen.

18 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2020