Toby and I went to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving, and now we’re in Jekyll Island, Ga., with his family for Christmas. (It’s really beautiful here — and really warm. I swam outside today!)

Anyway, my mom put the Christmas decorations up and made Christmas dinner two nights after Thanksgiving so we could celebrate with them, too. Everything was good, of course, but the spinach souffle was probably my favorite.

The massive amount of cheese could be why I like this so much… but hey, it has a bunch of spinach, too.

Weird thing about spinach souffle: I’ve liked it as far back as I can remember. Even when I was completely anti-green things and would freak out if a single strand of shredded lettuce touched my plate, I would eat Stouffer’s spinach souffle (which is way greener than the homemade version).

This is 100 times better than the frozen kind, as you might imagine. It’s not that hard to make, either. It just makes a LOT. And doing it without some kind of electric mixer would be a challenge.

There are a LOT of eggs in here. If you don’t have a really big souffle dish, you may want to reduce the recipe a little. Also, my mom used fresh spinach but I feel like it’s easier (and cheaper) to use frozen.

My mom baked this in a water bath, but I haven’t when I’ve made it. I think it might take longer to cook if you do the water bath, though, so keep that in mind if you go that route.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Spinach souffle (Adapted from my mom)
3 packages frozen spinach
9 tablespoons butter
9 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 1/2 cups grated medium sharp cheese
9 eggs, separated and at room temperature

Heat and drain (and/or pat dry) spinach.

Preheat oven to 350. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and then add the flour and whisk. Allow to thicken slightly, then whisk in the milk and continue whisking until sauce is thick and smooth. Add the spices and stir in the grated cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Remove pan from heat and add spinach. Beat the egg yolks and then add them to the cheese/spinach mixture and mix well.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Carefully fold whites into the spinach mixture.

Pour mixture into buttered souffle dish and bake for about 50 minutes (make sure you don’t open the oven in the first 30 minutes), or until souffle is puffed and center is firm. Serve immediately.