Unsure what it is about spinach. Lately, It seems like every time I cook - spinach is involved. More than likely, because it's a-plentiful 'round these parts this time o'year. It's springlike food, to eat it gives you Popeye-esque virility. It's a versatile green - you can steam it, braise it, blanch it, make salads out of it raw......or like what I did this evening.....roll it into tenderized chicken breasts. With out adu, I present:

Le poulet a roulé avec des épinards en vin et sauce aux champignons
(Chicken rolled with spinach in wine and mushroom sauce)

4 medium chicken breasts, tenderized to 3/16th-1/4" thin
1.5 lbs. fresh spinach leaves/baby spinach
large handful of cilantro, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp finely chopped ginger root
2 scallions
10 small fresh mushrooms, sliced medium thickness
2tbsp light virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry Chardonnay
3/4 cup chicken stock
fresh ground pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste

In a large skillet on high heat, sauté 1/2 the garlic and scallions for one minute in 1tbsp olive oil. Add spinach and stir for a minute then add cilantro and ginger root, salt and pepper. Stir for five minutes or until spinach has reduced to a moist green. Take off heat, place spinach in bowl to cool. Do not clean out skillet, add rest of olive oil - set aside to brown chicken later.

Lay tenderized chicken breasts flat. Lightly salt and pepper each side. Take a large tablespoon of the spinach mix and spread on each chicken breast. Spread thin. Roll each chicken breast with spinach spread and secure with one toothpick. Fire up skillet on medium heat and add rest of garlic and scallions, sauté. Lightly brown rolled chicken breasts on each side for 1 minute. Slowly pour in chicken stock and Chardonnay. Add mushrooms and move chicken rolls around sauce. Cover skillet and let cook for 5 minutes. Turn chicken and stir mushrooms cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Place one rolled chicken breast on each plate and drizzle wine sauce and top with mushrooms.

This past weekend, I went to this huge Asian market - almost the size of a Costo or Sam's Club.....warehouse sized market of every imaginable middle eastern culinary soup to nuts. I only stopped by for a few small items - and fortunately I had enough will to steer away from the sirens with toothpicks holding up my eyelids (The Odyssey by Homer reference). Oh the singsong of the siren tempting me...

Anyhoo. I was really impressed by the baby bok choy. I had to get a fresh batch - unsure what I wanted to cook with it...but I had an idea. I also had some catfish filets.....So without adu, I present:

Lemon Dill Catfish with Herbed Baby Bok Choy and Spinach

3 medium catfish filets, boned, filet style
3 tbsp. lemon juice
teaspoon of dill weed
coarse/kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium casserole dish, wipe with oil to prevent sticking. Simply lay down filets in dish, drizzle lemon juice over filets, sprinkle dill weed, salt and pepper. Lightly cover in tin foil and place in oven for 15 minutes or until moist and flaky. While in oven, prepare the bok choy and spinach:

1lb baby bok choy
1lb fresh spinach (leaves only)
1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley or cilantro
1/2 cup dry Chardonnay
1tbsp light olive oil
4 large cloves of garlic chopped coarsely
2 medium scallions thinly chopped
coarse/kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

First, in a large pan or wok - sauté the garlic and scallions in olive oil for a few minutes on high heat. Toss in baby bok choy stirring every now and then to induce garlic and scallions. Add salt and pepper and cilantro. Keep stirring until bok choy leaves begin to wilt. Toss in spinach - stir in completely, while adding Chardonnay. Stir for about 3 - 5 minutes or until spinach is soft and stems of the bok choy are slightly transparent and caramelized. Plate with Catfish and serve. Bon apetit.

I have to say I love to cook. Tonight, I made fresh pan seared bratwurst in a wine sauce with a side of spinach infused with garlic and scallions. Total yum. I never reference recipes anymore.....unless I do something like bake bread (which is not very often) - I cook from what I know. Not to boast....but, I am one of those intuitive yet ingenious cooks that knows the basics.....how things go together. How long things take to cook without setting a timer....without exact measurements.....kinda like knowing how much a swig or a splash is...a dash or a dribble....I know the difference between Extra Virgin olive oil and just Olive Oil....the difference between Walmart and Williams & Sonoma...that a roux is not a shortened version of a kangaroo or the periodic element ruthenium.
Well, without further ado - I present my:

"Bratwurst in der Weinsoße mit Knoblauch herbed Spinat"
(Bratwurst in wine sauce with garlic herbed spinach)

6 beef/pork bratwurst (made fresh at butcher)
1 1/4 cups white dry Chardonnay wine
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1lb of fresh spinach
3 thinly sliced scallions
2 tbsp. light olive oil
3 chopped garlic cloves
dash of freshly ground pepper

Start with browning the bratwurst in a large skillet with a little olive oil (half) turning every minute or two on high heat with tongs. Once outside of bratwurst is browned, slowly pour in wine just covering bottom of pan and bratwurst. Put lid on to allow bratwurst to cook in wine. Begin spinach by thoroughly rinsing it and drying it off.

In an equally large skillet put the other tbsp. of olive oil in on high heat. Let olive oil get glossy and add garlic and scallions. Sauté for about one minute. Check on bratwurst. Take a little bratwurst/wine juice from pan and add to spinach and stir it in.

Turn bratwurst again and keep lid on while it continues to cook. Toss all of the spinach in and quickly stir. Turn down heat to medium. Dash spinach with both salt and pepper. turn off spinach when all spinach has wilted into a dark green mush. turn off heat and cover.

After bratwurst is cooked thoroughly, dress plate with 1-2 bratwurst, with the wine sauce dribbled over top with a side of Dijon mustard then place a tall dollop of the garlic spinach next to bratwurst.