It’s no secret, I LOVED Joanna Gaines’ first cookbook, Magnolia Table. I’ve made tons of stuff from it and am continuing to cook my way through it. (You can read my full review here-recently updated with more pictures.) So you are probably not surprised to hear that I pre-ordered Volume 2 so I’d have it immediately upon release.
Thumbing through it, my first reaction was that it seemed a little “fancier” than volume one. The recipes are less homespun and a tad more sophisticated in flavors. While there’s still some classic comfort foods like Chicken Fried Steak and Southern Sweet Potato Casserole, there’s also more salads and some slightly more exotic fare like Stuffed Grape Leaves.
In the first book, Jo unabashedly used canned soups, Velveeta, and other processed foods to the shock of purists (and probably to the relief of a lot of home cooks). In this book, she seems to focus more on made-from-scratch efforts. The opening chapter is all about making homemade items like pie crusts and tortillas..things she encouraged you to buy ready made in the first volume. There’s also an early chapter on Breads most of which are yeast risen. In the first volume, there was maybe one or two yeast requiring recipes.
The anesthetics of the book are very similar to the first volume. In fact, they look nearly the same. Folks who didn’t like the way the book “lay” on the counter, won’t be pleased with this one. The photography is beautiful but not as plentiful as the first volume which is regretful.
Possibly, my biggest disappointment is the lack of personal stories this time around. In Volume 1, Joanna introduced each recipe with where it came from, why it was special, etc. This time around a fair number, possibly the majority of the recipes, have no introduction at all. I miss the personal touch.
JoJo writes in the introduction to the book that this book “stretched” her as a cook and she makes mention of her “team”. While the first book truly felt like you’d sat down with her recipe box full of family favorites, this one really does feel like more of a product of the Magnolia enterprise. The Gaines family is hot right now so I understand she wanted to produce a second volume as soon as possible to keep the momentum going. I can’t help but feel the effort was rushed and they included some filler (pizza, street taco variations) to beef up the pages.
This probably sounds more negative than I intend. It’s just that Volume 1 was SO good. So how’s the food? My first effort was Blueberry Muffins.
You guys. They were perfect. PERFECT. In fact, if I hadn’t known for a fact that I baked them, I wouldn’t have believed that I baked them in MY kitchen. These muffins were bakery level. The smell, the taste, the texture. A friend of mine saw my glowing Instagram post and texted to say the Blueberry Sweet Rolls were equally decadent.
So despite my minor quibbles, JoJo hooked me again. As with Volume 1, there’s multiple recipes that I want to try from this book. Maybe with Jojo’s help, I can grow as a cook as well and finally make a decent yeasty bread. (Since I’m still trying so many in Volume 1, I hope she gives us a little time to prepare for Volume 3-if there is one.)
All in all, Magnolia Table Volume 2 is a solid sequel to Volume 1. And I’m really glad I can get butter delivered from Costco now.
Both books available from Amazon. Affiliate links below.