What’s Cooking?

Marietta residents Amy and Brad Slade recently cooked Baked Chicken with Bacon Bottom and Wild Rice from Joanna Gaines’ new cookbook, Magnolia Table. Gaines and her husband, Chip, operate a remodeling business in Waco, TX called Magnolia Homes and several other businesses that hold the Magnolia brand. The Gaines are also known for their TV series, Fixer Upper, where they renovate houses into showplaces.

Brad answered questions about what's cooking in the Slade home.

Why did you decide to make this dish?

We wanted to make something different for dinner. We were checking out the cookbook. We all get tired of the same old steak. The same old chicken and fish. We wanted to try something a little different.

This recipe had me at bacon. When I saw "bacon", I said, "Let’s try this." Everything’s better with bacon. You use a thick cut peppered bacon. The flavor it brings out along with the onions and the butter. Everything’s better with butter and bacon. It really brings out the flavor.

The reason they call it Bacon Bottom is that it cooks up from the bottom. It brings the flavor up through the rice and the chicken. It cooks up into the chicken.

On a scale of one to five, with 5 being fantastic and 1 being awful, rate the Baked Chicken with Bacon Bottom and Wild Rice.

I would rate the dish a 5 for taste, not because I made it. The flavor was just so interesting to me.

The first step is to line the casserole dish with 12 slices of peppercorn bacon. The flavor is unbelievable because of the bacon, but I love bacon.

How long did it take you to prep the dish and how long to cook it?

The recipe calls for a 15 minute prep time but it took 20 to 25 minutes. It cooks for an hour and 15 minutes at 375 degree. The recipe calls for Uncle Ben’s fast cooking rice. I would have liked the rice softer. I would have extended the cooking time 15 more minutes.

Rate the complexity of making the dish as easy, moderate, or difficult.

I would have rated it easy/moderate. It was pretty easy.

Do you have any recommendations for improving or personalizing the dish to make it uniquely yours?

I would have added a little extra chicken broth and, maybe, a little extra sour cream and a little more cream of mushroom to make it creamier. Little things like that. I don’t think I would have added anything a crazy to make it mine per se. I just would have added a little more of the ingredients that they asked for. Tweak it a little. I just would like it a little creamier.

Did the dish live up to your expectations?

Absolutely. 100% lived up to my expectations. I would highly recommend it.

I am the baby of 10 children. I personally don’t have any problem eating anything. I’ll eat anything my wife will fix. I’m not a picky eater. I love any type of casserole and things like that. Something different.

Our kids children (Jack and Meghan) loved the casserole. That’s always a plus when my young adults like the food you’re cooking.

It’s a really good cookbook. (Gaines) does have some good recipes. I think they have 4 or 5 children now so she’s cooking for the masses now. She’s looking for something somewhat easy to cook and it’s got to be tasty for the kids.

Anything else you want to add?

The dish is good heated up. You can’t eat it all if you have 2 or 4 people.

Magnolia Table is available at most retailers where books are sold.

Find variations of the recipe online like this one: https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/baked-chicken-bacon-bottom-and-wild-rice/16842/. Visit https://magnolia.com/.

Photos courtesy to Marietta Talks