When our Thanksgiving hostess originally sent out my cooking assignment, she didn’t notice that one of the recipes had a box of stuffing in it. They’re a mostly gluten-free household, so I set about trying to find a replacement dish. (With prior approval, of course. I’m not about to unilaterally change the Thanksgiving menu.) I was watching the Thanksgiving episode of “Throwdown” while I was doing said thinking about side dishes, and Bobby Flay’s Brussels sprouts with pomegranates caught my eye. I’ve never actually eaten a Brussels sprout, but the dish looked so festive and sounded kind of tasty. So I emailed a link to Chloe and said, “How about this?” She got back to me pretty quickly to say the kids wouldn’t eat them but to make them anyway. Almost immediately afterward, her husband sent another reply saying, pretty simply, No Brussels Sprouts.

So I broke out the Mark Bittman and found a recipe for Rich Spinach Pie, which I turned into a rich spinach casserole. It looks pretty much like creamed spinach, but it doesn’t have any cream cheese in it. Which may or may not be a prerequisite for creamed spinach. I don’t know. I do know that it’s not much fun to pick through and de-stem 2 pounds of spinach. Which is why I encourage the use of child labor.

Rich Spinach Casserole
Adapted from “How to Cook Everything.”
2 pounds spinach, trimmed of thick stems and washed well
1 medium onion, chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
black pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I’m using a gluten-free bread)
2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the spinach and onion and cook for about a minute, until the spinach wilts. Drain thoroughly and cook a bit, then squeeze out as much of the water you can and chop it.

Put the spinach and onion in a bowl with the garlic, cream, eggs and about half the Parmesan. Mix well, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the spinach into a greased casserole dish, then top with more Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Dot with butter. Bake until the mixture is hot and set and the top is brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

The green beans were much less work to process, so I didn’t enlist the children on this one. I parboiled the beans and then shocked them in some ice water, let them dry off and put them in a freezer bag. The bacon is in a separate bag within that bag, and the shallot-cider sauce is in a half-pint jar. I’ll warm it all up and toss it together just before eatin’ time tomorrow.

Green Beans with Shallots, Apple Cider and Bacon
from “Southern Living,” I think
2 quarts water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/4 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 slices applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 cup chopped shallots (about 4 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider
1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper

In a Dutch oven, combine 2 quarts water and 1 tsp salt; bring to a boil. Add beans; cook 8 minutes or until tender. Drain.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in skillet. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Slowly add apple cider and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture has reduced to 2/3 cup. Add beans; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Crumble bacon; sprinkle bacon, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, parsley and black pepper over beans.