Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering – Joanna Gaines

★★★★★

Above: pork tenderloin, grilled raspberry-chipotle (p. 235)

There are two things I remember distinctly about those early days in our marriage. One, I really loved the act of putting on an apron…And, two, I had a domed glass cake stand on our counter that I never liked to see empty.

Above: green beans amandine (p. 174-175)

Joanna Gaines, from the hit TV show Fixer Upper, and designer of Magnolia Homes, has added one more star to her plate – cookbook author.

Above: chicken casserole (p. 199)

And let me tell you, I am blown away.

Above: chicken potpie p. 196-197

The cookbook is split into several main categories – starting with what Joanna recommends for a well-stocked pantry, then recipes for breakfast, lunch, soups & salads (etc).

Her recipes are simple, effective and delicious. 

You want an enchilada- here’s an enchilada. You want a potpie – here’s a potpie.

You want a four-course dinner with un-pronounceable ingredients?Get a different cookbook! 

I adore how Joanna often provided “cheats” in her recipes for the family on the go.

For example, she provided a recipe for roasting a chicken…but then says in all her recipes that use chicken that you could buy one of those pre-cooked ones from the grocery store and get the same results.

Most of the recipes are accompanied by images – some of the food and some fun, candid ones of the Gaines family.

The pictures were gorgeous and totally made this book stand out in comparison to my other cookbooks.

All of the food-type sections and each recipe is accompanied bypersonal anecdotes either about where the recipe came from, a few tweaks she’s tried on it or her family’s reaction to her recipes.

“Welllll, umm, it doesn’t taste like my mom’s spaghetti.”
I almost choked on my noodles.

So far I’ve tried about 10% of the recipes and have had success every time – I’ve made modifications and have tried her suggestions and have been pleased by her the results.

Most of the recipes are the kind that are right up my alley – so I’m excited to see what happens as I try more.

My family LOVES the sour cream chicken enchiladas (p. 192-194), the quick cinnamon swirl & walnut roll (p. 58-59) and (of course) Jojo’s biscuits (p 16-18).

All in all, I could not be more satisfied. I adore cooking and trying out new recipes on my family – and it’s safe to say that we are all very happy with this purchase.

I stick my hand in a bowl of flour to begin to make a pie crust, or peel some potatoes, and all of a sudden my thoughts slow down. I begin to unwind….signal to my heart and my mind that I am home.

Cannot wait to experiment!

Interested in this one from Joanna Gaines? Buy it here:  Amazon