March 26th is National Spinach Day, honoring the most iron-rich vegetable, the reason Popeye was strong to the finish. Many people name Creamed Spinach as their favorite way to enjoy the vegetable—along with a juicy steak. It’s a steakhouse staple.

To help tone down the richness a bit, some steakhouses are making their Creamed Spinach without cream. Chicken stock, flour and butter are substituted for the heavy cream or cream cheese.

Executive Chef Eddie Advilyi from Angus Club Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan is one of the steakhouse chefs turning out Creamless Creamed Spinach (we’ve also had the dish at Benjamin Steakhouse). Chef Eddie shares his recipe with us:

RECIPE: CREAMLESS CREAMED SPINACH

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
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*Chicken base is a highly concentrated stock available in powder or cube form.

 
Preparation

1. BOIL or steam the chopped spinach and drain well.

2. ADD the other ingredients. Mix until it becomes creamy, about 5 minutes.
 
 
MORE WAYS TO ENJOY SPINACH

Top: Creamless Creamed Spinach at Benjamin Steakhouse. Center: Ribeye steak with Creamless Creamed Spinach at Angus Club Steakhouse. Bottom: Fresh spinach from Good Eggs.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), is native to central and western Asia (think ancient Persia). It is a member of the botanical family Amaranthaceae, which also includes amaranth, beet, chard, lamb’s quarters (mache) and quinoa, plus numerous flowering house and garden plants.

At some point, spinach was introduced to India and subsequently to Nepal. It arrived in China around 647 C.E., where it was known as “Persian vegetable.”

It became a popular vegetable in the Arab Mediterranean, and in 827 was brought to Italy by the Saracens. It arrived in Spain by the latter part of the 12th century, and in Germany by the 13th century.

Spinach first appeared in England and France in the 14th century and quickly became popular because it could be harvested in early spring, when other vegetables were scarce.

Spinach was supposedly the favorite vegetable of Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589), wife of King Henry II of France. Dishes served on a bed of spinach are known as “Florentine” after her birthplace, Florence. Florentine dishes are sometimes served with Mornay sauce, a béchamel sauce with cheese (usually Gruyère and Parmesan).

Top: Scallion cornbread from Good Eggs. Bottom: Cream Chipped Beef On Toast from RecipeTips.com. Here’s the recipe.

That’s not a problem. We make four loaves at once and freeze three of them. If you avoid gluten, you can find a recipe that’s all cornmeal.

You don’t need a plate of barbecue or grits and eggs to enjoy its pleasures. Serve cornbread anytime:

 
Cornbread doesn’t last 48 hours in our home; but if you have cornbread that is drying out, make toast or:

 
Some cornbread recipes are so sweet, they taste like corn muffins. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but if you try to avoid unnecessary added sugar, take a look at this recipe from Good Eggs. It uses only one tablespoon of sugar.

It also layers extra flavors: scallion, jalapeño, cotija cheese. The heat of the chile bits brings the already-wonderful sweet corn and butter flavors to a new height.

We also added corn kernels; the texture adds delight.

RECIPE: QUESO FRESCO & SCALLION CORNBREAD

This recipe, baked in a skillet (you can substitute a round cake pan), requires 15 minutes active time and 30 minutes baking time.
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°. Using clean hands or a rubber spatula, spread one tablespoon of ghee all over the bottom and sides of an 8-10” cast iron skillet. Fit the bottom of the skillet with a disk of parchment paper by tracing the shape of the skillet on parchment with a pencil and cutting out the circle.

2. COMBINE the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together to blend. Add the milk to the dry mixture and mix well with a fork.

3. MELT the remaining 4 tablespoons of ghee and add it to the batter. Finish by adding the eggs, 1¼ cup of crumbled cheese and most of the scallions, the optional jalapeño and corn. Mix the batter until all of the ingredients are well-combined.

4. GENTLY POUR the batter into the skillet and bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Garnish with the remaining queso fresco, lime and scallions and serve.
 
THE HISTORY OF CORNBREAD

Corn is native to Mesoamerica, and was used to make flatbread (tortillas) by the Mayas, Aztecs and other cultures. They did not have leavening and didn’t bake loaves of bread. Americans of European descent used cornmeal to make hoecakes and porridge like Indian pudding.

They also had no skillets or baking pans before contact with Europeans. The tortillas were fried on hot rocks. Berries, nuts and sunflower seeds could be added.

Top: Ghee is clarified butter: The solids have been skimmed off melted butter so the butter doesn’t burn (photo courtesy Ten Speed Press). Center: Tortillas: the original corn bread (photo courtesy Anson Mills). Bottom: Modern cornbread is often baked in baking pans and cut into squares (photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board).

The most basic hoecake was made with cornmeal, fat, water and a pinch of salt. It was made in a skillet without leavening resulting in dense corn pancakes. As ingredients and disposable income became more plentiful, butter, buttermilk, eggs, milk, molasses and sugar were incorporated into recipes. Wheat flour was added to lighten the taste and density of breads made only with cornmeal. [Source]

By the 1840s, chemical leavenings such as pearlash (potassium carbonate) and saleratus (potassium bicarbonate) were generally available to American cooks. In 1843, British chemist Alfred Bird invented baking powder (sodium bicarbonate). Modern commercial yeast was not available until the late 1800s, and the granulated active dry yeast we use today was invented during World War II by Fleischmann’s.

Finally, all the elements were in place to make modern cornbread. However, as a result of America’s modern taste for sugar and more sugar, most modern cornbread recipes are sweeter than those used by prior generations.
 
WHAT IS GHEE?

Ghee is similar* to clarified butter: It is butter that is melted and strained of its solids. It returns to a soft solid at room temperature.

Ghee has less moisture than butter, and for that reason is preferred in some recipes. It is also valuable when you want to pan fry in butter. By removing the milk solids, ghee has a much higher smoke point.

But if you’re making cake or cookies, you don’t want to use ghee: The buttery flavor largely comes from the milk solids, and the flavor will milder and less buttery.

Ghee is shelf stable (no refrigeration required). It lasts a good while on the shelf, and a very, very long time in the fridge. When you make it, you can make a double batch and stick the extra in the fridge. Or, give it to a friend who cooks: It will be greatly appreciated.

Here’s more about ghee.
 
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*Traditional ghee is made from butter churned from cultured milk, somewhat different from European clarified butter. A few Indian dishes call for using both ghee and sweet butter.
  

Top: Pastel beet salad for Easter, from the Oyster Club. Middle: Gold beets is the name given to the orange varieties. Bottom: Chioggia beets, pronounced KYO-jah, sometimes called candy cane beets. Beet photos from Good Eggs.

We adapted this charming salad concept from the Oyster Club in Mystic, Connecticut, as our Easter salad. Look in specialty produce stores or farmers markets for the beets.

RECIPE: EASTER SALAD

Ingredients

 
Preparation

The first three steps can be done a day in advance.

1. ROAST the beets and cut into batons, approximately 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 2-1/2 inches.

2. TOAST the pine nuts. Pistachios, which we personally prefer, don’t need to be chopped.

3. BOIL and dye the optional quail eggs.

4. SUPRÊME the orange. Suprême (soo-PREHM) is a technique that removes the membrane from citrus fruit segments* so they can be served in slices. Slice off the top and bottom of the orange with a very sharp knife. Set the fruit on one of the flat ends and carefully cut the skin from the flesh, beginning at the top and following the curves down.

5. MAKE the vinaigrette, in the proportion of three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil to 1 tablespoon of orange juice. Using fresh-squeezed orange juice is noticeably better. When ready to assemble:

6. WASH and pat dry the greens. Place the beets and orange segments in an arrangement as shown, with a plume of greens. With a tablespoon, spoon the vinaigrette in a circle around the plate. Garnish with nuts. If using quail eggs, tuck them under the other ingredients, peeking out. Serve.
 
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*In French cooking, suprême refers to the best part of the food. In the case of citrus, you’re removing the peel, pith and membranes to get to the best part—the juicy segments.
  

For an Easter weekend snack, how about some “Easter” popcorn?

Just combine plain popcorn with an Easter-theme confection: pastel sprinkles, mini pastel jelly beans or baking chips. We use pastel mint chips from Guittard, but a trip to the nearest candy store will yield other choices.

You can go one step further and make white chocolate popcorn bark with an Easter candy garnish. Because the candies adhere to the chocolate, you can use pastel M&Ms and other heavier confections (without the chocolate they’ll sink to the bottom of the bowl). This recipe is from Popcorn.org.

 
RECIPE: WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN BARK

Ingredients For 1 Pound (Twelve 3-Inch Squares)

 
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*We use Guittard white chocolate chips or chop Green & Black’s or Lindt white chocolate bars. We avoid white candy coating because it substitutes vegetable oil for the cocoa butter in real chocolate (and that’s the reason many people dislike “white chocolate,” as they’re actually eating white candy coating).

1. COVER a baking pan with foil or wax paper; set aside. Place the popcorn in a large bowl; set aside.

2. MELT the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. When the chocolate is melted, stir in the candy.

3. POUR the chocolate mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat. Spread the popcorn onto the prepared pan and allow to cool completely. When chocolate is cooled and set…

4. BREAK into chunks for serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
 
 

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Pastry chef Elizabeth LaBau of the blog SugarHero.com decided back in 2013 to create an egg-shaped dessert “pizza” for Easter: a cookie dough base topped with glazed fruit.

Looks delicious, doesn’t it? Here’s the recipe.

We always bake a cake with Easter decorations, and also serve a fruit salad. So three years ago, we adapted the “pizza” idea to a fruit platter.

 
Truth to tell, even with three years of practice, Ms. LaBau’s work is still far lovelier than ours. But we never claimed to be a professional pastry chef—just a professional pastry eater.

RECIPE: CREAM CHEESE FROSTiNG

Ingredients

 
Note: To frost a cake, you need a larger amount of icing. For vanilla cream cheese frosting, combine: 16 ounces cream cheese, 2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter, 1-1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar (sifted after measuring) and 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract.
 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients and place in a piping bag and pipe an Easter egg shape.

2. TIP: If you don’t want to pipe freehand, cut an egg shape from foil or parchment and use it as a guide. The trick is to fold the foil in half and cut half an Easter egg, so the halves will be perfectly symmetrical when you unfold it.