Saturday, April 23, 2011

Creamed Spinach

I love creamed spinach and cannot wait to try this recipe that I found online. It looks delicious and easy to follow. Many parillas offer spinach as a side dish and I've enjoyed it as a main course several times. By far the best creamed spinach that I have had in BA so far is from the rather touristy La Cabrera in Palermo. So good!
Creamed Spinach
Serves 6
2 pounds baby spinach or 2 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, tough stems discarded
1 3/4 cups heavy cream or whole milk, or a mix thereof
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Wash your spinach well but no need to spin or pat it dry. Place spinach in a large pot over high heat. Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes for baby spinach and 4 to 6 minutes for regular spinach.
Press or squeeze out the excess liquid any number of ways, either by wringing it out in cheesecloth (my favorite method), putting it in a mesh strainer and pressing the moisture out with a spatula or large spoon or letting it cool long enough to grab small handfuls and squeezing them to remove as much water as possible. Coarsely chop the wrung-out spinach.
Wipe out large pot so you can use it again.
Heat milk or cream in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until warm. Keep warm. Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic, if using, in butter in your wiped-out large pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about six minutes. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, about three minutes. Add warm milk or cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking, until thickened, three to four minutes. Stir in nutmeg, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until heated through.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/creamed-spinach/

Hardware Choice!

A previous post discusses the difficulty I had in choosing hardware for our bureau. Luckily this crisis has ended and we found some lovely blue and white handles in the home section of an Argentine department store. I think they look great! Now all we need to do is strip, sand and re-polish the bureau as it has some scratches.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

My New Tweedles




















I was so happy to find these lovely, marble-topped end-tables in one of the San Telmo antique markets last Sunday. A half-hour later, unfortunately, we were filing a stolen purse report for my dear friend at the local police station. However, even that experience didn't dampen my excitement at finding these gorgeous little tables. My love and I returned on Tuesday evening to bargain with the stall owner and take them home. I've nicknamed them TweedleDee and TweedleDum, or the Tweedles!


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Bits of Charm from Peru...

Lovely bowl of flowers decorating outdoor table in Peru.

Pretty street sign in Lima.

Wild Cala Lilies growing in La Merced monastery in Cusco.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Fun Finds in an Antique Store



Tigre Club


The Museo de Arte Tigre (Tigre Art Museum) is housed in a beautiful 1912 building on the banks of the Lujan River. Originally known as the Tigre Club, it was an important meeting place for the rich and famous.

We took a boat tour of the river delta and passed in front of this gorgeous site. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations and we've yet to see the inside.