A Review of Magnolia Table Cookbook by Joanna Gaines

Those who know me know that I am a HUGE fan of Fixer Upper. So, it was no surprise when I ended up purchasing the Magnolia Table Cookbook the moment it came out. I come from a long line of excellent cooks; my mom even does “old timey”-type recipes like bully cakes and corn fritters (those are not typos folks). I won’t lie; as I watch Fixer Upper, I get a little envious of those who sit in the Gaines’ home, as Joanna goes over floor plans and paint schemes over chocolate chip cookies and homemade doughnuts. So, when I heard the cookbook had come out, I was ecstatic!

What I love most about this cookbook is with every recipe comes a little story. I love looking into peoples’ lives and seeing how they share a meal. Dinner time was always my favorite part of growing up. Every night, we would sit at the table over a meal and talk about our day. It seems like the Gaines family values their dinner time as well.

The very first recipe in the cookbook is Jojo’s famous biscuits! If you are familiar with the show, you may have heard Chip raving about these and her scrumptious chocolate chip cookies (which also make an appearance in the book). There is also freezing tips to make the biscuits, and other recipes, ahead of time. From what I hear (okay, and maybe “see,” from stalking their Instagrams), their biscuits are a top seller at their new restaurant, Magnolia Table. Ash and I have decided that Waco, Texas is on our list of destinations to visit!

The very first time I cooked from the book was the weekend before Mother’s Day. We celebrated early because just 2 short days later Timmy and I would be laying on the beaches of Hawaii! There were so many options to choose from, but since I was cooking for my mother-in-law and all 3 of her sons, I felt like I needed to go with the basics: some type of meat and veggie, and then, spice it up with a bread of some sort. I settled on the Green Bean Amandine, Almond Chicken Tenderloins, and Jalapeño Corn Bread. I personally HATE green beans, but this recipe made me want to eat my greens; Timmy didn’t care much for the corn bread (he said it was too spicy for him). I was thoroughly pleased with everyone’s responses to the dishes and plan to make them each again.

A few weeks ago I was craving breakfast for dinner. It’s just one of those things that I gotta have every once in a while. Personally, I enjoy it better for dinner than I do when I’m actually eating breakfast! Then I remembered a Buttermilk Pancake recipe in the cookbook; before I knew it I was whipping up buttermilk pancakes from scratch! This was a big deal to me because not too many things are made from scratch anymore. It was fun watching flour, eggs, buttermilk and the other ingredients make a delicious batch of warm fluffy pancakes.

Today, I decided to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Usually, I follow the recipe on the back of Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips. Tonight, I tried Joanna’s; nothing against Nestle, but I think I found my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I was pretty impressed with myself and the turn out of these cookies. I’m not a baker; I usually can’t bake unless my mom is in the kitchen with me (she’s a pro), but I was surprised at how much my cookies looked like the pictures in the cookbook! They were delicious and of course, Timmy and I enjoyed them warm! He kept saying, “Mmm… I want another one!” The recipe was easy to follow and made about 40 cookies from one single batch!

I also found women online who enjoy a lot of the other recipes that I can’t wait to try. One of the most popular recipes is the Chicken Spaghetti. I personally haven’t tried that yet, but the ladies in the group go crazy over it. From what I hear, it’s husband and kid-approved!

A few tips when purchasing the cookbook: you may want to order it directly from the Magnolia website, like I did, or purchase it from Target. It is available on Amazon, but there are a few popular recipes missing from that version. You may also want to purchase a cook book stand, the binding in the book is pretty tough and it is impossible to hold the book open while trying to cook. It’s kind of like a text book instead of a typical spiral cookbook, but it’s made well enough that it will easily stand the test of time. Lastly, when you make these recipes, know your guests; if they’re big eaters, you may want to double up the recipes!

Bon Appetite!

Xo,
Er