Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 37

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While I certainly am not a food photographer, many times I do hope to present beautiful photos of the delicious recipes that we have been trying. That being said, other times I wish I would have taken a picture not of the food, but instead the kitchen in which it was created. This week was definitely one of those times, and the closest picture I had to really showing the “behind the scenes” was the photo above showing the cast iron skillet in all of its splattered, greasy, buttery glory. If you had been able to see into our kitchen though, you would have seen two college kids chatting about football, while Charlie cooked eggs and bacon on a griddle and I managed to fill the entire house with smoke throughout the cast iron skillet pancake cooking process which took about 30 minutes longer than expected. Yes, the kitchen was a mess and even this morning, our house smells like hot pancakes and bacon, but there are many worse ways to start off Monday morning than with a house smelling like good food, a full stomach and warm hearts from time spent with company the night before. While this week of cooking through Magnolia Table in a year brought kitchen messes along with the delicious Ricotta Pancakes (p.55) and Meat Loaf (p.259), it also brought fun memories, many laughs and fun times around the table. I hope that despite the mess (which certainly has occurred many more times than just this week! ha), you will take the plunge to invite someone over, try something new and know that even though it won’t be perfect and you might eat an hour later than planned in a super smoky house, it will be worth it.

Ricotta Pancakes

When first reading this recipe, I had two thoughts burst through my mind. First, as it was a dish I was going to serve at Sunday dinner, I knew I was going to have to slightly hide the fact that these pancakes had ricotta cheese, otherwise my younger brother would not touch them with a 10 foot pole. My second thought was that since they had the mark of being served at the Magnolia Table, they probably were going to be delicious and would not disappoint! Thankfully, I managed to hide the ricotta cheese knowledge until AFTER everyone had eaten, and indeed, this recipe was delicious, just as I imagined. Soft, buttery and slightly dense, these pancakes are very unusual but equally as wonderful. The ricotta provides a more filling nature to the pancakes, however without knowing that this addition was included, I never would have guessed that they had ricotta cheese.

Crowd Average Rating:

Despite my original apprehension, these Ricotta Pancakes gained an average rating of 8! While not extremely fluffy, these pancakes had a thinner dense nature that perfectly absorbed the butter and syrup that was drizzled over them. I will note however, that they turn out very differently depending on the cooking method. Joanna Gaines mentions to use a cast iron skillet with butter which I used for the majority of the cooking.

Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 37 - Ricotta Pancakes

As I had doubled the recipe, Charlie made a few on our freestanding griddle as well after finishing the bacon, and the griddle provided a slightly fluffier, but not quite as tasty, result. I do think that the step of the cast iron skillet does provide for a better texture and while slightly more of a mess, it is worth it for this recipe. I will note however, that since we doubled the recipe, we had an enormous amount of pancakes, so in the future, I will likely stick with the original measurements.

Meat Loaf

While this recipe does not have the stamp of being served at the Magnolia Table, I believe it should, as it truly is the best meatloaf Charlie or I have ever had! Growing up, I enjoyed meatloaf, but thought it was best upon its first serving due to its texture. That being said, this recipe is simply delicious and maintains its wonderful texture even when being rewarmed. Instead of using the traditional breadcrumbs within the mixture, Joanna uses crushed saltine crackers which makes for a wonderful addition. Similarly, this dish is not overly saucy, but still has plenty of flavor and most certainly is a recipe I recommend trying out.

Crowd Average Rating:

Much like the Ricotta Pancakes, this Meat Loaf recipe gained an average rating of 8! I was so stunned at this dish, that honestly I have no recommendations for the future. This recipe is simple to make, quick to pull together and most certainly will be a meal I try again in the future!

Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 37 - Meat Loaf

Looking Ahead – Week Thirty Eight

Week 38 Shopping List Includes:

Black pepper
Kosher salt
Spaghetti noodles
Butter
Onion
Garlic
Red and yellow bell pepper
Pecans

Baby Bella mushrooms
Heavy cream
Milk
Chicken broth
Cream cheese
White cheddar cheese
Velveeta cheese

Shredded chicken
Parsley
Chocolate
Sugar
Eggs
All purpose flour
Vanilla
Chocolate chips

Looking ahead to week 38 within our Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year Guide, this upcoming week will feature Chicken Spaghetti (p.213), Brownie Pie (p.277) and homemade Pie Crust (p.28). While much of this week will be using pantry staples or new fresh ingredients, each certainly brings together comfort foods that will be thoroughly enjoyed! Unlike past weeks of reviews, I am not sure which recipe I am most excited for, but I am thrilled to try them all!

Final Thoughts

While trying new recipes might lead to messy kitchens with endless cleaning, they also bring good times, sweet treats and fun adventures. Expanding our culinary palettes is one of my favorite ways to add in a daily adventure and certainly this cookbook has given us many more than we would have normally taken on! Even if you don’t take on this entire challenge, I hope these reviews will inspire you to take on daily adventures as well.

Happy cooking!