Home > Giveaways

Michael Smith’s Family Meals (giveaway)

Hours Posted on Hours Updated on
Comments 467 Comments

You know we recently vacationed in P.E.I, a place where beloved Canadian Chef Michael Smith calls home. You can’t go far on the island without seeing his face in a bookstore window or on a poster.

I’m a big fan of Michael’s cookbooks, Fast Flavours is in regular rotation – and his latest, Family Meals, is right up my alley. In fact, it hasn’t left my kitchen since it arrived in the mail; that is entirely the point of the book.

With sections such as ‘Lunchbox & Snacks’, ‘ Cook Ahead’ and ‘Family Meals in Minutes’, it’s obvious Chef Michael is familiar with juggling the demands of a busy household and a career.  And while many family cookbooks deliver recipes to cook for your family, Chef Michael’s shows you how to have fun in the kitchen with your family. It’s a subject we love around here!

Family Meals cookbook

We gobbled up the nutmeg-scented Weekend Pancakes on a recent Saturday morning and I simmered a big batch of Sloppy Joes on my stove yesterday. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve never made sloppy Joes for my kids. “I think I’ll have another one.” said Noah, shyly, after making the first bun disappear in a twinkling.

The boys have pounced on Family Meals, too and we’ve bookmarked another  handful of dishes to make together: Rosemary Apple Braised Chicken, Broccoli Bacon Frittata and Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies.

True to Penguin’s style, the recipes are easy to follow, the photos gorgeous, and the book is a joy to cook from.  Michael Smith’s Family Meals is available online at both Indigo and Amazon and I’m giving away two copies today!

Michael Smith's Family Meals cookbook

Giveaway!

Thanks to my publisher at Penguin Random House I have two copies of Michael Smith’s Family Meals to giveaway to North American readers.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell me what meal brings your family around the table. Or a favourite meal as a child…

That’s it!

Winners will be announced on Sunday, August 10. Good luck to all!

Cooking has always been Aimée's preferred recreational activity, creative outlet, and source of relaxation. After nearly ten years in the professional cooking industry, she went from restaurant to RSS by trading her tongs and clogs for cookie cutters and a laptop, serving as editor here at Simple Bites. Her first book, Brown Eggs and Jam Jars - Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites, was published in February 2015.

Similar Posts

467 Comments

    1. I guess we’ve been doing family meals right since my boys were babies because they’re still coming back at 32 & 28. We still enjoy being together for a meal. It’ the best time of the day.

      A favorite meal…anything when we’re talking & laughing around the table..

  3. Weekend breakfasts are family time at our house. Our 2-yr old loves cracking the gigs and mixing the pancake batter or dipping the bread in the egg mix for French toast. With another in the way, looking forward to including him or her!

  4. Breakfast or brunch…always can get the family together over a great morning meal. Sometimes dinner gets piecemeal with varying schedule so breakfast together is a great way to start the day!

  5. Wow, this looks great! Believe it or not, carrot ginger soup is one my kids will always pick for their birthdays!

  9. Egg Inside Toast (Toad in the Hole!). The very first thing I learned to make on my own!

  12. The family meal that brings us together is served any time of day. It usually includes eggs, bread, deli meats, cheeses, condiments, veggies, fruit and some tea. The fact that this is one of thise meals that we can pick at, helps us to stay at the table longer than usual. This leaves room for some laughter, chats, good food, and fun. This is one of my favourite ways to slow us all down and reconnect, and that can be difficult sometimes with a 15 and 14 yr old.

  13. I went to PEI with a friend several years ago. It was an amazing week. My family loves tacos and nachos, so I’ll put all the fixings on the table, and we will have a relaxing, make your own dinner kind of meal.

  17. With a big family-6 kids (2-13yrs) family dinner, while challenging, is a huge priority! All of my kids have different likes & dislikes, but everyone loves chicken gumbo & homemade pizza.

  20. My Eggs Benedict brings my family together for breakfast or brunch. Even the little ones love it. Now that my children are grown, they comment on how my eggs benedict is sooo much better than what they get in restuarants. I actually cheat and my receipe is low calorie it comes from a “Breakfast and Brunch” cookbook so I can make part of it ahead of time to make it easy for 8 people.
    We visited PEI and loved Tignish and the view from the restuarant at the tip of PEI. I love Michael Smith and his cooking style, he encourages creativity in the kitchen and I think that is what makes a good cook. take what you find in a cookbook and make it your own.

  21. My grandson loves slow cooker meatballs and sauce and zucchini corn fritters. His two favorites!

  23. Boneless beef shortribs in the crock pot served over garlic mashed potatoes. It is a comforting meal on a cool fall or winter evening.

  24. For me as a child it was spaghetti bolognese that got me every time. My 4 year old daughter is excited about anything with chicken, noodles or french fries!! She is getting more adventurous and I would love a new book for inspiration. Thanks!

  26. We love summer and my family will flock to a table filled with smoked ribs and shrimp salad.

  28. Roasted chicken with peas or green beans and rice means clean plates all around over here. The summer version of grilled chicken is just as popular.

  30. My family loves BBQ, especially ribs. Or chicken wings. My husband and I love soups or stews, anything you can dip some bread into to finish off a meal.

  31. Thanks for the idea- a new cookbook can bring me out of a rut. When homemade pizza is on the menu, everybody comes running! Cinnamon rolls, challah.

  32. Pretty much every Sunday my mom would make Pino Empanadas and Chilean Tomato and Onion Salad !! So wonderful !!

  33. As a kid, my favorite meal was one I got to make: Kraft Dinner and little smokies (small smoked sausages.) For my family, pasta Carbonara will make them drop anything! I love Michael Smith. One of his cooking shows was my first glimpse of PEI after we moved to Canada; I got to chaperone my son’s school band on a trip to the east coast and spent two lovely days in PEI. I sooooo want to go back some day!

  34. I remember Mom’s German Red cabbage with leg of lamb and our family’s “Jordan Potato Salad”. Wonderful flavors.

  36. I’m still lucky enough to have all my kids at the table with me for every meal (well, except for lunch during the school year). This book looks perfect!

  38. It is a quick and easy meal…but so delicious. A requested favorite for all my kids birthdays!
    Chicken Cordon Bleu.

  40. My first Giveaway entry!
    As a kid, playing in the great Canadian outdoors all day, my mother made our lunch fast and simple: buttered whole meal bread cut into cubes and put into a stubby drinking glass then topped by a poached or boiled egg. We’d add a dash of salt and then stab the white pillow with a spoon so the yolk could bleed all over the bread. Ten minutes later, I was out the door for more adventures.

  42. Soup, soup and more soup! Traditional chinese soups simmering for a few hours are my favourite as a child. I didn’t realize how much time my mom took to create these concoctions. Now I appreciate it more!

  43. Growing up we always gathered at the table for dinner. My mom was a fabulous cook. The most memorable dish was her Chicken Fried Steak and Cream Gravy. It is such a comfort food dish. My brother and I are grown with kids of our own now. We live in different states but when we are home and all together mom makes this meal and it is such a treat and a special memory of being young. I cook this meal for my husband and two sons. My boys are grown now but the same holds true for them. It is one of their favorite things that I make, just like it was the most favorite thing my mom made for us. Some things in life are very special.

  44. My family loves tortilla pie with black beans and crockpot soy sauce chicken! Would live to win this book!

  45. My family always comes to the table for lasagna and baked ziti! (Which were also my favorite meals as a child) :)) Aimée, you are one of my favorite food bloggers! I would be so happy to get this book. Keep on rockin’!!

  48. Our family (four adult children, spouses and grankids) usually get together every other week for an Italian dinner of various entrees. The all time favorite has to be Cioppino served over Linguine with appropriate sides. We use Ruth Spears recipes from her book “Cooking Fish and Shellfish”
    taking elements of several recipes and combining them. The rich combination of Clams, Scallops, Crab, Lobster and Fish, is everyones favorite and of course pasta is always a plus.

  49. Supper is the one meal where i have all eight children and my husband at the table. Now that my oldest is 18, he often skips breakfast (like his dad), and i know the days are numbered where we’ll have all ten of us around the table. But i love it when we are all there. Yesterday my gorgeous 16 yo daughter said something about the chicken being “nice and fatty”, which of course was picked up by a little brother, teasing, “So are you!” When she remonstrated, she was told, “Now you know how the chicken feels!” And finally the subject was laid to rest by Ulysses (8), who bellowed, “The chicken’s not fat! He’s just big boned!” 🙂

  50. Favorite family meal here is homemade pizza with the grown up kids picking their favorite toppings! We’ve had great vegetarian pizza with whatever we had in the garden that day!

Comments are closed.