Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 6

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6 weeks down! For this week’s recipes of cooking through Magnolia Table, we had the privilege of trying Joanna’s Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese Quiche (p.23) in addition to her Fresh Spinach & Leek Risotto (p.227). While not tested within the same meal, both of these recipes got a range of scores and will certainly be brought to our table again. As one of the most widely score recipes, the Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese Quiche made an appearance for our Sunday dinner, while the Fresh Spinach & Leek Risotto became a meal that Charlie and I got to enjoy throughout the week.

Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese Quiche

As I mentioned last week, I was curious to see how this week’s quiche would be received as mushrooms can have a fairly polarizing effect. For a mushroom lover though (or even mushroom tolerator), this quiche is divine. Cooking the mushrooms ahead of time helps to mellow out the traditional mushroom consistency, so that once added to the quiche, they enhance it quite nicely. Fabulous for any time of day, this quiche is hearty and very easy to make. As I knew that not everyone at our Sunday dinner table was a fan of mushrooms, I paired this quiche with a maple monkey bread, bacon, fresh fruit and coffee. Likewise, while Joanna comments that it is best served the day it is made, we found that it does reheat nicely for breakfast if you do have any leftovers to enjoy.

Crowd Average Rating:

Our most polarized recipe so far, this Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese quiche came in with an average rating of 5.5. I believe this is largely due to how people feel about mushrooms in the first place as we had ratings ranging from a 9 to a 2 (which I believe was still generous for the way they felt). While I typically like the taste, but not the texture of mushrooms, I did enjoy this quiche and felt that the texture was not a hindrance to the recipe overall.

Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 6 - Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese Quiche

Charlie and another of our friends felt the same, while others felt that this was now one of the best quiche recipes they had ever had. Others in our group instead ate their weight in bacon and monkey bread with their primary objection to the quiche being the mushrooms. I do not have many suggestions to the recipe except that perhaps I might add a little more onion next time, but other than that, I think this recipe is wonderful and certainly just depends on the group that you will be serving it to. If you like mushrooms or even if you can tolerate them, I would suggest trying this Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese Quiche as it might just change your mind for the better.

Fresh Spinach & Leek Risotto

Far less polarizing was the Fresh Spinach & Leek Risotto. Having never cooked with many leeks or risotto, I was excited to see how this recipe developed. Creamy and flavorful, this rice-esque pasta dish is very hearty and feels “green” with the addition of the spinach and leeks. As Joanna mentioned in her notes, this dish certainly could be served vegetarian, or rotisserie chicken could be added. I did stir in a freshly carved lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, and it was a wonderful addition. While I was unsure if it would be filling enough on its own, I believe now that the risotto would, although having tried it with the flavors of the added lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, I think I would keep this addition in the future even though it would be hearty enough without.

Crowd Average Rating:

One of my favorite recipes so far, this Fresh Spinach & Leek Risotto gained a solid average rating of an 8.5. I found it fresh, flavorful and delicious with subtle undertones that became more pronounced the more pasta I ate. While not rivaling his favorite Green Beans Amandine dish (see our review here!), Charlie also enjoyed this dinner and certainly would be pleased to eat it again.

Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 6 - Fresh Spinach & Leek Risotto

Other than adding the rotisserie chicken, I am not sure that there are any other additions or suggestions that I would have to this recipe as I believe both the directions and flavors panned out very well. If you have not tried risotto, however, do be aware that it is not your typical pasta recipe, but more has the consistency of a pasta rice blend. It is delicious and I very much enjoyed it but was glad that I was not anticipating a traditional pasta dish.

Looking Ahead – Week Seven

Week 7 Shopping List Includes:

Raspberry chipotle sauce
Soy sauce
Honey
Garlic powder
Garlic salt
Spinach
Pork tenderloin
Brussels sprouts

Blueberries
Sliced almonds
Olive oil
Ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Rice vinegar
Poppy seeds
Garlic

Chives
Asparagus
Red wine or red wine vinegar
Sherry vinegar
Shallot
Egg
Butter
Fresh tarragon

Looking ahead at week 7, this week will feature a Grilled Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin (p.235) with a Brussels Sprouts Salad (p.115) and Roasted Asparagus (p.163). While not many of your unique ingredients will carry over from the past week, a couple of your pantry staples from the past couple of weeks might, such as honey, poppy seeds, sliced almonds, olive oil, garlic, garlic powder, garlic salt, butter etc. Certainly not as diverse as last week, this upcoming week’s recipes sound to make a lovely meal to which I am very excited about, especially as the recently warmed weather brings on all the thoughts of grilling.

Final Thoughts

While this week was an adventure with a wide range of ratings that included our first average below a 7, I enjoyed both recipes and am excited to see what next week will hold. Did you all enjoy this week’s recipes? If so, or even if not, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below!

Happy cooking!