My Amazon account has reminded me that I bought Magnolia Table Volume 2 in September 2021, which means I’ve had this in my to-review stack for two years, almost. Time flies by. It really does.

I also have to come clean here and admit I’d done no more than flip through it before last week, when I pulled it out and figured that you really wouldn’t mind *another* recipe book being reviewed, would you? Recipe books are easy to review, fun to read (I keep a small pile by my bed for the days when five words in a sentence chain are too complex) and useful. I also had no idea who Joanna Gaines was, nor that she has series of cookery shows available on Prime video to watch. I did, however, find I was following her on Instagram, where her visual style must have caught my eye, and now on Pinterest where the combination of white floors and brown leather seats has me smiling. Mea Culpa, I can only say the last few years were hectic and hey hey, I have her in my sights now, so here we go: a book review written on a sweltering hot office day. I could do with a long, cool drink.

The book is the second of three recipe books by Joanna, all called Magnolia Table, although she has a few other books including the beautiful Homebody interior design book. I’ve had that one since March 2021 and not reviewed it yet. I need to get a move-on! The aesthetic of the books and Joanna’s life is very relaxed, hard-wearing materials, basic cream, blue, brown, classy old style meets efficient modern. It’s a very popular style, and suits me far better than the ubiquitous grey and silver that seems to be every where at the moment. I can imagine my furniture actually having a role in a Gaines homestead, where it would be out of place in a grey-pink-silver palace.

At 11 inches by 8, the book is just under A4 size, hardback and 340 pages long. There are a couple of extra blank pages for notes at the back, a nice touch, I think, although any notations, changes etc I make in recipes tend to get marked either on the recipe page itself or, if the recipe is valuable enough to save to my file, on the copied out version. The paper is lusciously thick and matte, so no shine on the photos.

The contents are organised well. After a pair of initial chapters on holding gatherings and herbs, seasonings and substitutions, the chapters are named for courses or meals: Scratch made; Bread; Breakfasts etc. There’s a pleasing separation of Soups & Salads from Appetisers & Starters, which is nice. A clear index at the back lists by ingredients so you can easily find a chicken main course through that, say.

The photographs throughout are beautiful. Completed recipes are displayed artistically, with bowls, plates, utensils etc while there are occasional glimpses at the family at home. They’re well-lit, and you get a goo didea of what the finished dish should look like.

Recipes are well-presented as well, with a page each for most of them. That does mean on shorter recipes (like the waffles on page 89) there is a lot of blank page, but it does mean you aren’t struggling to divide recipe from recipe in your head. Prep time, cook time and cooling time are clearly shown, while ingredients run down one column and the instructions, clearly numbered, run down the second, wider column. There is no dietary information such as calories etc.

There are no chapter openers, no introductory essays on the roles of dinner, desserts etc, but individual recipes do have an introductory paragraph with either a family memory, ingredient information or advice on preparation and cooking. I’m a little saddened, because I like the rambling personal narrative, like Nigel Slater, but I know not everybody likes them.

You can see by the pagemarkers that there are quite a few recipes I’m working my way through. The recipes tend to be very informal, family-friendly, good for gatherings of mates and because of the way the recipe is presented, don’t give me the heebee-geebees of “I’ll never make that!” Despite it being an American book, ingredients seem mostly to be available in the UK and measurements, which are in cups, spoons and pounds/ounces, are easy enough to follow if you have measuring cups to start off with.

She definitely leans heavily on the chicken side of things, with far fewer recipes for beef or pork, but the chicken recipes are really useful, likely to become standards and I can’t criticise her for that.

I’m surprised that this is the second book. The desserts have a very classic American feel, with strawberry pie, baked cheesecake, peanut butter brownies and my personal favourite peach cobbler. I’m holding out on making that until autumn, but I do have peaches sliced and frozen waiting for it.

Overall, a very useful and usable book. It would work well for younger families or for people who like having friends over. Most recipes are for 4, but would increase easily. Certainly, now I’ve rediscovered it and looked at it clearly, I’m making sure to use it during the rest of August meal planning. Have you seen any Magnolia Table programmes? Are they worth me watching? Or are they better saved for cold winter nights and comfort TV?

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

How to Hygge Your Summer is my book about making the most of summertime. Hygge is so often seen as a winter pastime, and yet the principles of hygge (good food, good friends, time to be) are just as applicable to days when you can gather in a park or garden as when you gather round the fireplace. This book only scrapes the surface of what you can do, but hopefully sends you off with inspiration to make your own summer hygge.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of summer/autumn/winter.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Arno Smit on Unsplash. I wish I had a garden shed like this one! I chose it because I love the colours of the windowframes, the tantalisingly inviting open door and the comfy chair within. Perfect spot for a cup of tea and a good book. And the header today is the shot of the book on my desk, looking cool as always.