I absolutely love Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper. Her passion for her family, Chip’s crazy antics, and their businesses is something I’ve always admired. When I discovered her cookbook it was at my house in two days, thank you Amazon Prime. My husband has opened my world up to Risotto, and all the amazing, wonderful things you can do with it. I came across this recipe in Joanna’s book Magnolia Table and was eager to get started. I went all in, making my own chicken broth and everything. It was totally worth it.

Chicken Broth

• 3 lbs whole chicken leg (we got a pack of thighs and a pack of drumsticks)
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
• 2 celery stalks, halved crosswise
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 bay leaf

In a big pot combine all ingredients with 4 quarts of water. Bring water to a gentle boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked but still has flavor (40 minutes). Remove chicken and let cool, then peel the meat off and set aside for a different recipe (we made General Tso’s Chicken) and put the bones and skin back in the pot. Continue simmering for an hour.

Strain the broth through a mesh sieve and discard solids.

Fresh Spinach and Leek Risotto

• 4 cups of chicken broth (or 32 oz of storebought)
• 5 tbsp salted butter
• 2 medium leeks (white and light green parts, halved and then thinly sliced) I highly recommend you cut and then rinse them vigorously or else you’ve got dirt everywhere
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (we used a Viognier)
• 5 oz baby spinach
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan + some to sprinkle
• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Heat the broth and keep it at a slow simmer. Melt 4 tbsp of butter over med-low heat in a saucepan. Add your leeks, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic.

Add your rice and stir until it is coated in butter, and is translucent with a white dot in the middle. Add your wine and let it simmer away. Begin ladling 1/2 a cup of hot broth into the rice, stirring until it is absorbed by the rice. Be sure you stirring slowly and constantly. Continue adding in 1/2 cup increments, stirring until rice is absorbed before you add more. Your risotto should be creamy. This should take between 25 and 30 minutes. Don’t rush!

Add in your spinach and stir it in until it’s wilted. Add your cheese, lemon zest and juice, nutmeg, 1 tbsp salted butter and season with salt and pepper. Once it’s dished up, add a little more cheese on top and your fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Chenin Blanc

We had just had a Chenin Blanc at a blind wine tasting, and my husband swore he knew that bottle from somewhere. I swore he was crazy, but he was right. We had a bottle hiding in our wine storage, hanging out for this week of 52 Weeks of Wine! When we had this in the blind tasting, it came off as super sweet, but really good. Turns out, it was only super sweet because we had it immediately after a Sauvignon Blanc that was dry and tart so those honey notes really popped! I found this wine to be super versatile and could be eaten with almost anything. It is a French grape that buds early on in the season and then ripens mid to late season. Chenin Blanch can be sweet, dry or somewhere in between! We really liked this wine and will be looking for it again soon.