Chicken and Spinach, Act II

Recipe By : The LL Bean Book of "New" New England Cookery

• 4 cups cooked chicken -- diced
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 3 cups cooked spinach -- chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary -- crumbled OR 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 cup cheddar cheese -- chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion -- grated
• 4 to 5 slices stale bread -- (thick slices)
• soft butter

In a greased 3-quart baking dish, arrange layers of the diced chicken seasoned with salt and pepper and the spinach seasoned with the rosemary. Spread 1/2 cup of cheese over the chicken-spinach mixture, poking some of the cheese into it.
Heat the butter and stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. Stir in the half and half and the milk a little at a time, and when it is smoothly blended, stir in the seasonings. Add the remaining cheese and simmer about 4 minutes. Trim the bread slices to fit the top of the baking dish and toast them on one side. Fit the bread, untoasted side up, over the casserole contents and spread the pieces liberally with soft butter.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the bread lid becomes crusty.