Method

In a medium-size saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, chicken base, Tabasco, and seasonings to a simmer. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

In another medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Slowly whisk the heated milk mixture into the butter mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. The sauce will be very thick.

Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve while hot.

To serve: Place the hot creamed spinach in a bowl, sprinkled with an extra touch of ground nutmeg on top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, if desired.

Makes 5 cups/Serves 8

Reprinted with permission from © Carlyn A. Berghoff and Janice C. Berghoff, The Berghoff Family Cookbook, published by Andrews McMeel Publishing
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"One of the dishes that made Berghoff's famous, Creamed Spinach was put on the menu around 1945 by our Swiss then-executive chef Karl Hertenstein, and has been there ever since. Up until now, the recipe, although simple, has been our secret. We made everything "from scratch" in Berghoff's kitchen—except the Creamed Spinach. Because spinach is so bulky when fresh and shrinks to almost nothing when cooked, we have always made our enormous daily quantity from frozen spinach. Frozen spinach is minimally processed: quickly blanched, drained of excess water, then flash frozen. If you want to try making our recipe from fresh spinach, we have included a recipe. But we bet that, side by side, you can't taste the difference." From the Berghoff Cookbook

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