Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 50

Having recently gotten into oven roasted garlic, I was so excited to try Joanna Gaines’ version of this recipe. This savory garlic butter is served over crispy French bread and makes for a wonderful appetizer. The Kalamata olives and chives give plenty of flavor to round out the garlic, however the garlic certainly is more subtle after roasting. If you are looking to mix up a traditional garlic bread recipe, I definitely recommend giving this option a try! 

Crowd Average Rating: 

Coming in with a crowd average rating of 5.5, the Roasted Elephant Garlic Bread is quite tasty. I will note that Charlie and I loved everything about it except for perhaps the Kalamata olives. Neither of us are huge Kalamata olive fans and felt that the olive flavor almost overpowered the remaining garlic butter, so this recipe did not get quite as high of a rating as I expected, however that was largely due to our personal preference. I very likely will make this recipe in the future without the Kalamata olives, but if you enjoy Kalamata olives then this recipe will be perfect for you just as is!

As Charlie and I had made this recipe in the past, I was very excited to see that it was again coming to our table! Creamy, savory  and very comforting, this Baked Chicken with Bacon Bottom is a fabulous casserole for a cold winter day. The creamy wild rice mixture wonderfully melds with the bacon flavoring and creates a delightful combination. While I typically try to follow the recipes exactly, I will say that since we had made it in the past, this time I only prepared 2 boxes of the Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice instead of 3 as we do not have a deep dish 9×13 pan and rice still hasn’t been a favorite for Charlie since  his chemo. I slightly reduced the chicken broth called for, but otherwise kept the recipe the same. It made plenty, was delicious, still had a great texture and filled up a normal 9×13 baking pan. If you want to try the recipe but don’t have a deep dish pan, just make 2 boxes! 

Crowd Average Rating

This Baked Chicken With Bacon Bottom came in with an average rating of 7! While I love this recipe, I do have a few tips for when I make it in the future.

Despite my grandma always making pecan pie for holiday celebrations, going into this recipe, I was not sure that I actually had ever eaten a slice of pecan pie.  That being said, I do not have many pies to compare it to, but regardless, this Spiced Pecan Pie is delicious! Spiced with cinnamon and Ancho Chile powder, the filling  is flavorful, sweet, crunchy and perfectly paired with a homemade pie crust. Similarly, the whipped cream topping was an unexpected but delicious addition that definitely works well with the dessert. 

Crowd Average Rating: 

Coming in with a crowd average rating of 6.5, this Spiced Pecan Pie packs much more of a punch than the rating might lead you to believe. Most of us who tried this dish do not normally gravitate to pecan pie, so it would not be a dessert we typically would choose off a menu, hence the lower rating. That being said however, it was the best pecan pie many of us had ever had, so if pecan pie is your thing or you want to see if it will be, you MUST try this recipe.

• Black pepper
• Kosher salt
• Butter
• Onion
• Bacon
• All purpose flour
• Chicken broth

• White Cheddar cheese
• Heavy cream
• White pepper
• Creme fraiche
• Chives
• Italian bread
• Eggs
• Heavy cream

• Milk
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Light brown sugar
• Pecans
• Powdered sugar
• Maple syrup