story time…again.

I present to you – CREAMED KALE. It was delicious. SOOOO effing delicious. And the absolute best part was that I wasn’t freaking out about the puddle of liquid at the bottom of my pan that refused to thicken or soak up, no matter how much parmesan cheese I pour in it! *wink*

So, let’s dive into a little backstory. I love cooking at home. I love eating out. I also love trying my damndest to replicate said-delicious things at home, that I’ve eaten out at restaurants because I’m annoying and always want to be able to eat & recreate those memories whenever my little heart desires.

but now it’s my turn.

The last time we visited Jeff Ruby’s was this past April 2022 for my 35th birthday and it was a dream. The first time we visited was summer 2016 and we vowed to be back. They had upped the ante since our last visit and added a few *new* sides to their menu – I’m sure you can guess – roasted brussel sprouts with bacon & parmesan-garlic cauliflower. The “popular”, albeit usual suspects on every menu nowadays. Which were delicious, don’t get me wrong. But my heart sang a familiar song when I saw that my old-faithful favorite : Creamed Spinach was still on the menu.

Call it fate, call it weirdness, call it obsession. Call it whatever you want, but I’ve accepted in my heart of hearts that I JUST CANNOT make creamed spinach like Jeff Ruby’s. And I think I’m OK with that. Because that just means I’ll pine away for it and when I do get to eat it again, it will be that much sweeter. So, for now, I’ll *settle* for my Creamed Kale. Which actually made my heart sing a different song when I made it & enjoyed it because it was an adventure that ended in delicious success! – let’s get to it!

Instructions, 1

In a large bowl, inspect your kale & rip the leaves away from the stems.

The goal is to make this dish as soft & velvety as possible – so stems have NO PLACE here.

A great shortcut is to purchase the “salad ready” bag of Kale that is already cleaned & semi-prepped for you, as shown in my picture!

Dice both the shallots & garlic to have at the ready.

In a large saucepan, sauté both the shallots & garlic on medium-low heat to soften them.

((The thing I truly enjoy about this dish is there’s no HURRY. Nothing should be burning, nothing should be fast or feel worrisome. This dish comes together at an enjoyable pace and the best part is you can see each step happening so there’s no guesswork!))

After a couple of minutes of sautéing the shallots & garlic – now is the time to add the LITERAL splash of white wine. ((This is my secret ingredient!))

If you’re worried about what a splash means then, damn, bless your heart.

I cannot accurately describe the measurement of a *splash*

The best way I can describe it is to pour yourself a *taste* of wine into a glass (like what you’d get at a restaurant to try beforehand) and pour that in.

It will give an instant sizzle to the pan & soften any bits left by the shallots and garlic. It will give off a wonderful smell as well!

Keeping your pan on medium-low heat, pour in the 1 cup of heavy cream and stir gently. ((the other ½ cup may or may not be needed – if your kale looks dry AF, add in a little more cream, a little bit at a time – obviously if your kale is swimmy, then do not add more cream – give it time to thicken!))

Next, add in the 2 oz of cream cheese – whisk well to combine.

Now is the time to sprinkle in S+P and Red Pepper Flakes, to taste.

I personally don’t like my Creamed Kale to be *spicy* but I like that demure, hidden punch that lies somewhere between a low-heat & smoldering.

Finally, add in the grated parmesan cheese to this glorious mixture & turn up your heat to medium.

The Parmesan Cheese will also add a little bit of salt so season carefully!