Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering

by Joanna Gaines

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Magnolia Table is infused with Joanna Gaines' warmth and passion for all things family, prepared and served straight from the heart of her home, with recipes inspired by dozens of Gaines family favorites and classic comfort selections from the couple's new Waco restaurant, Magnolia Table.

Jo believes there's no better way to celebrate family and friendship than through the art of togetherness, celebrating tradition, and sharing a great meal. Magnolia Table includes 125 classic recipes—from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to small plates, snacks, and desserts—presenting a modern selection of American classics and personal family favorites. Complemented by her love for her garden, these dishes also incorporate homegrown, seasonal produce at the peak of its flavor. Inside Magnolia Table, you'll find recipes the whole family will enjoy, such as:


Chicken Pot Pie
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Asparagus and Fontina Quiche
Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Bacon, Toasted Pecans, and Balsamic Reduction
Peach Caprese
Overnight French Toast
White Cheddar Bisque
Fried Chicken with Sticky Poppy Seed Jam
Lemon Pie
Mac and Cheese
Full of personal stories and beautiful photos, Magnolia Table is an invitation to share a seat at the table with Joanna Gaines and her family.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Adult, Foodie

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2018

About the author

Joanna Gaines is co-owner, co-founder and lead designer of Magnolia Homes, and co-stars in HGTV’s Fixer Upper with her husband Chip Gaines. She is the mother of five and lives in Waco, Texas.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 by personal 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!

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[Weatherly Webb · Rating 1 out of 5]

My reviews are not generally so very different from everyone else s. This may be a first. I love to cook and love cookbooks and read them from front to back. I think I read at least half of this one with my jaw hanging open.
I don't think I am a food snob. I often make the basic "Texas Queso", Velveeta and Rotel in the microwave, but the number of times Velveeta showed up in this cookbook was astounding. Condensed cream of something soup also was included in several recipes. The author also uses Uncle Ben's Wild Rice as a part of a few recipes. I am all for shortcuts, but ingredients like cream of chicken soup do not taste good in Mexican recipes and the way to make these recipes without the soup is usually no more difficult. She makes her grandfather's favorite Lebanese meat pies (Fatayar) with refrigerated crescent roll dough. Refrigerated crescent roll dough has a distinct taste to it and doesn't taste anything like Fatayar dough to me. There are other prepared doughs on the market that would work just as well and taste better.
I burst out laughing when I got to the mashed potato recipe with milk, butter, salt and pepper. You think? I have never seen their TV show but I think these people are clever at business and are laughing all the way to the bank.
I was disappointed because I was looking for some good basic dinner recipes that were not complicated and didn't have hard to find ingredients.
I did think that almost all of the desserts looked good and the techniques and ingredients looked reasonable. The dessert section just wasn't enough for me to give this cookbook more than one star.

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful book, but in terms of practicality...I'm not sure how many of these recipes I'll ever make. Still, the pictures and writing style are gorgeous. And I can't help but love the Gaines and want to support everything they do.

[Conni Neiswinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lots of gorgeous photos of food made with canned ingredients, store bought mixes, condensed soup, etc. Nothing I'll be purchasing or cooking from! It doesn't deserve any stars.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of the Gaines family will really enjoy Magnolia Table because Joanna has added a lot of personal touches to this book. She talks about her family and her life in Waco. There are many pictures of her children, her farm, etc. She also includes family recipes that apparently have been family favorites through the years.

The recipes have easy to follow instructions and, for the most part, require common ingredients that are easy to find. Not all of the recipes include photos but I would say more than half of them do. Nutrition information is not included. One major drawback is that the book does not lay flat on your countertop. I had to use paper weights to hold my page open while cooking. Apparently Joanna is of Korean descent and she includes a small section of Korean recipes from her mother and grandparents. The recipes in Magnolia Table that I tried were delicious and there are many, many recipes to choose from.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a college graduation present and was enamored with it. I love the layout, the way that everything is presented and so many delcious things. I want to cook practically everything in it! In a saturated market of cookbooks, this one stands out!

[Arielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waaaaay too much canned cream of chicken soup. And canned/boxed things in general.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Joanna Gaines. And this book is not an exception... I marked more than half the recipe to try! Note that if you have food intolerances, like I have, you may have problems finding some recipes that you can eat, because she uses a lot of bread, eggs, cheese and milk, but there's always a way ;-)

Can't wait to try these!!

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this just might be my favorite cookbook yet!!! I literally want to try every single recipe in here, and she makes it so easy! There’s no guilt about the occasional can or pre-made dough like there is with professional chefs. I’ve never been very familiar with their brand or show or anything, but they’ve found a new fan in me!

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every picture is tan and brown for every recipe except the salads. I made the chili recipe and kept thinking there had been a mistake during book printing. I’m not kidding you - no chili, cumin, cayenne pepper - NO SPICES in the chili recipe! It was so bland as to be inedible as written. I realize now that her recipes reflect her decorating style. Tan and brown.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I'm not a fan of home improvement shows so it took me more than a minute to realize the stars of Fixer Upper and the owners of Magnolia Table restaurant were one and the same.

I picked up Magnolia Table: Volume Two because I love to eat and I love food porn.

First, the quality of the book is great. It's really thick and heavy, on nice paper with large, gorgeous pictures.

Second, I wasn't sure what to expect with the recipes.

In my experience, you see the same crop of recipes pop up time and again, familiar staples and/or favorites you find on most tables rear its head in a similar shape or fashion in cookbook after cookbook. The same applies here.

Some of the recipes are labor intensive and require many steps; some are shocking simplistic, requiring store-bought ingredients, which I respect because, hello! Joanna Gaines is a mother of four, about to be five!

What sets Magnolia Table apart from most cookbooks I've read, in my opinion, are the dessert recipes!

Most cookbooks offer your typical mainstays and your standard, salivating pictures but there are more desserts to pant over; beautiful, lavish, and, for the most part, decadent.

I would make some of the recipes, hmm....maybe.... but I'm in no rush.

I'd prefer to flip through the dessert photos again.

[Sara (Sjthroughthelookingglass) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Gaines empire, but this cookbook fell flat. To me, a seasoned cook, the recipes seemed simplistic and lacking creativity. I read this cover to cover and came away thinking it was mad
e to round out her brand.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this cookbook, but gave it 4 stars because she uses Velveeta in several recipes and I just CANNOT. I’ve made several of the recipes and loved the baked chicken with bacon bottom and wild rice! It was a hit among everyone, even kids!

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think this will be a very popular review since this book appears to be getting fantastic feedback. Unfortunately for me it came down to the recipes. I had to look for a disclaimer in the book because I thought maybe Joanna Gaines was being sponsored by Pillsbury, Uncle Ben’s, and Rotisserie Chicken. I was surprised how many of her recipes called for these convenient items. Since it feels off trend of what is happening in kitchens (or what people want to happen) these days. I don’t think one of her chicken recipes called for raw chicken. I did love the photography, the layout, and her voice that was present on every page. The dessert section also seems more on par with what I was looking for in this book. Hopefully I can try some of those recipes.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cook and bake a LOT. I will not be making anything from this book though! French toast includes 2 cups cream, 1 stick of butter and 10 eggs. And it is just one pan. Tons of butter and cream in the dessert recipes. The savory recipes with "perfected" chicken pot pie is nothing more than cream of chicken soup in a can. Chili has no spices included - just canned southwestern beans. Tortilla soup? Mexican rice in a package.
I am all for shortcuts... but those shortcuts have been around for decades. A book should lend something new to the genre.

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of well known recipes with simple ingredients and easy to follow directions. The beautiful photographs and notes from Joanna are a great addition.

[C o u r t n e y ☕ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, i just absolutely adore her and Chip so maybe im biased.

However, a recipe book is either for you or it isnt. You either like what you see or you do not.

This book is well put together separating by food category, informative with kitchen gadgets and appliances that are necessary, helpful with measurement and temperature equivalents etc.

I like that she included so many recipes that they seem to share around their own kitchen table and i like that she included alot of lemon desserts (my personal favorite) i only just received this book yesterday but have skimmed through every recipe and sticky noted which ones im eager to try.

Thank you Joanna!

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures were beautiful and plentiful. The recipes were mostly ordinary dishes made with excessive amounts of butter, sugar, cream and canned ingredients.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing ground breaking. Many better recipes out there

[Susan Crowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures! Great commentary before each recipe. But boy, does she use a lot of cheese and butter! And that's not the vegan in me talking. That's the person who enjoys blood moving swiftly through my arteries. I do love JG though. And this is a beautiful book that I will proudly display on the shelf with my other favorites.

[Leigh Linden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Joanna and this book looks beautiful, but no thank you to Velveeta, cream of gross soup, and mayo. I thought this would be fresh and healthy but sadly it is not. :(

[Megan BG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've already made a few things from this cookbook and they were easy and delicious. The pictures and brief write-ups really add something. Beautiful!

[Caitlin Hawksley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros: I love Joanna Gaines' design sense and personality, so I knew her cookbook would be beautiful and probably have some thoughtful anecdotes ...

Cons: ... but she and I don't see eye to eye in the kitchen. I tried a handful of recipes, and each one included too much cream cheese, heavy cream, or sugar for my taste.

No, thank you: last-minute party dip (felt downright unhealthy to eat and, even with all of the add-ins, was low on flavor), bow-tie pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and kale (This recipe included an unimaginable quantity of cream cheese, heavy cream, and shredded cheese.), and green beans amandine (Where's the flavor??? Why so much brown sugar?).

Favorites: ...

[Chanel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just love Jo! Her words are so comforting. I can’t wait to try her recipes... I was growing more and more hungry as I read and leafed through this book.

Update:::::!!!! I’ve made four recipes so far so I have more to go but honestly they are all horrible. I follow them to a T, I know how to cook so I’m not a dummy in the kitchen. I’m hesitant to make any more to not only waste my time but money on ingredients. The store bought canned condensed chicken soup for chicken pot pie!??? Like seriously Joanna, come the hell on, making it from scratch literally takes up no more amount of time than this recipe already took. So why bother with the disgusting taste of condensed soup?

[Lianna Kendig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this as a Christmas present, and I’m trying to read every book I own.

The photographer did an amazing job in this book, however, there were far too many random photos in this book that had nothing to do with cooking. They took up full pages and sometimes two whole pages for no reason.

I will say the introductions to each chapter provided a good personal touch. Although, there were too many recipes from other people in the cookbook for my taste. No pun intended. I did see some recipes that looked amazing and something I’d be willing to do, and the directions and notes were easy to follow, so that’s why I gave it three stars.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

So glad I got this from the library.

I personally like to cook from scratch. And while I often enjoy shortcuts like using a prepared crust for a quiche, I do not prefer to use processed food like: velveeta cheese, canned crescent rolls, mexican rice mix, or cream of chicken soup in my recipes. This book is filled with food recipes/hacks you would find on pinterest. Nothing wrong with that per se, but not worthy of a cookbook, imho. Also, who needs a recipe for BLTs?! The ingredients are literally in the name....*eye roll*

[Kristin Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't wait to start cooking from this. I'm not crazy about all the processed ingredients she uses (cream of soups, Velveeta, etc.) so I don't how often I'll use those recipes, however.

But basically, I want Joanna Gaines to be my BFF.

[Bethany Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would give a high rating for the aesthetic, but the actual taste of these recipes is incredibly bland. The chocolate chip cookies are especially meh. Stick to the pre-printed recipe on a bag of chocolate chips and you will be in better shape.

[Mira Prater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the best cookbooks I’ve ever read. This and Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook.

[angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

January #cookyourbook2020