Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 7

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As the weather recently crept into the mid 60’s with blue skies and sunshine, I was thrilled to take on this week’s recipes, but particularly those that included the grill. Grilling seems to call for clear skies and delightful weather, so I was so excited that for this week in February, both our recipe guide and the weather seemed to align. This week of cooking through Magnolia Table in a year led us to the Grilled Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin (p.235), the Brussels Sprouts Salad (p.115) and the Roasted Asparagus (p.163) creating a dinner that was both healthy and tasty.

Grilled Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

While I had to make a couple of adjustments to this recipe, the pork tenderloin was delicious! As I believe the Fischer & Wieser Raspberry Chipotle sauce is a local Texas item, I tried to find the closest substitute possible, which was the Stonewall Kitchen Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce. In trying to create the recipe as originally as possible, I kept everything else the same. Despite the base of my sauce being slightly different than Joanna’s, the pork tenderloin was tender, juicy, and very flavorful. Charlie laid out aluminum foil on the grill grate to act as a grilling sheet, which helped to keep the juices and marinade of the pork close to the surface while turning, basting and grilling. This led to an extremely caramelized and flavorful exterior and a tender and marinaded interior, so I would recommend this step to prevent losing much of your marinade to the fire. Similarly, having a meat thermometer on hand to test for the perfect temperature is a game changer as it leads to the most tender and perfectly done meat.

Crowd Average Rating:

Coming in at a solid average of 7.5, this pork tenderloin recipe would be a wonderful addition to your summer grilling menu.

Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 7 - grilled raspberry chipotle pork tenderloin

I would recommend making this recipe with side items that are non-intensive if it is just you preparing the meal, as the turning and basting of the pork every 3 minutes can make it a challenge to accomplish if you are making another intensive recipe (such as the Roasted Asparagus with Red Wine Bearnaise Sauce) at the same time. Charlie and I found it was best tag teamed between the two of us, so if you have a spouse or friend you enjoy cooking with this is a great meal to add to your list.

Brussel Sprouts Salad

If you are looking for a great side item with your Grilled Chipotle Pork Tenderloin, the Brussel Sprouts Salad is the perfect companion. Recommended by Joanna, I am so glad that I paired these two items together as they complimented one another in both flavors and cooking processes. Flavorful, textured and very healthy, this Brussel Sprouts Salad is easy to make and keeps very well in the fridge for several days. Likewise, its required chilling time before serving makes it a very easy salad dish to make ahead of time and frees you up to be able to focus on your other portions of your meal, such as the pork tenderloin above. While the salad seems full of unexpected flavors, they actually pair together quite nicely and provide an unusual spin on a fresh salad.

Crowd Average Rating:

Also earning a favorable average of 7.5, the Brussels Sprouts Salad is high on my list of make again items. Fresh, simple, and delicious, this recipe would be fit for any time of the year. My only suggestion possibly in making it again would be to add a slight bit more of the homemade dressing.

While it was extremely flavorful as is, adding a tad more of the dressing I believe would help it to feel less like a dry salad combination and provide the slightest hint of fluidity to the mixture. It certainly is delicious as is so the addition is not necessarily needed, but for Charlie and me, adding the bit of extra dressing would be a welcome addition.

Roasted Asparagus With Red Wine Bearnaise Sauce

The Roasted Asparagus with Red Wine Bearnaise Sauce has been one of the most interesting recipes that we have tried thus far. A bit more labor intensive than some, this recipe certainly will make a statement and be a labor of love for those you make it for. Like several of the items that Joanna has created so far, the texture of roasted asparagus was just perfect. Tender with the slight hint of a crunch, the roasted asparagus was delicious. On the flip side, I had a bit more trouble making the Red Wine Bearnaise Sauce. It seemed that when I added the butter to the egg and red wine mixture, the texture became very separated, and I knew was nothing like it was supposed to be. After a bit of quick googling, I found a solution that helped to remedy the separated sauce. If your sauce separates, start by cracking an egg yolk into a separate bowl and add 1 tablespoon of hot water to the yolk. Whisk it until the egg has a thick creamy texture and then add 1 tablespoon of your split sauce at a time, constantly whisking, until the entire sauce is bonded together again. This takes a very similar approach to what was supposed to happen the first time, so if you struggle on your sauce as I did, perhaps this quick fix can help you out.

Crowd Average Rating:

While this recipe gained an average rating of a 4.75, I believe it is best judged separately. Tender and delicious, the roasted asparagus gained a strong rating of a 6.5, unlike its sauce companion which for us gained an average of a 3. For the sake of our typical rating scale, the overall rating was a 4.75, however I believe these two items can easily be separated. Regarding the asparagus, I certainly would use her recipe to make asparagus in the future. While perhaps not our go to vegetable, the asparagus still cooked quite nicely and was an easy side dish to offer. On the flip side, to us, the taste of the Red Wine Bearnaise Sauce did not positively overwhelm the complicated process that I had in creating it. Only gaining a rating of a 3 between Charlie and I, it is not a recipe that we necessarily will hope to try again. Perhaps our tastes or our mishap with its creation tarnished our view of the recipe, however either way, it did not leave us in awe enough to add it to our make again list for the future.

Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 7 - Roasted Asparagus With Red Wine Bearnaise Sauce

Looking Ahead – Week Eight

Week 8 Shopping List Includes:

Butter
Half and half
Eggs
French bread
Bacon
Spinach
Shallot
Boursin cheese

Chives
Olive oil
Ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Smoked sausage
Onion
Potatoes
Celery

Carrots
All-purpose flour
Chicken broth
Baby kale
Egg
Powdered sugar
Lemons
Granulated sugar

Looking at week 8 on our Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year Guide, this week will feature a Baked Egg Bread Pudding (p.29), Sausage and Kale Soup (p.109) and Mina’s Lemon Bars (p.309). 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 shallot, olive oil, butter, eggs, all-purpose flour etc. With a lovely diverse palate of recipes, this week should be a beautiful mix fit for the edge of winter and beginning of spring with soup to help ward off the final chill and lemon bars to mimic the cheerful daffodils peaking through around my front yard.

Final Thoughts

Coming upon our last week of the second month of our challenge, I continue to look forward to and be excited for what food creations each week will hold. Already, the challenge has become a common topic of discussion of our Sunday dinner crowd, neighbors, and family members as they anticipate trying new recipes we have on tap or give thoughts and opinions on items they have already tried. So far, Joanna’s “collection of recipes for gathering” has been a beautiful addition to our table and our life. Has it changed yours? If so, I would love to know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Happy cooking!