Michael Smith’s Family Meals (giveaway)
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!
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!
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!
Grilled pork tenderloin and roasted potatoes is one of my families favourites, although I recently received a pizza oven for the BBQ, and while I’m still getting the hang of making a great pizza dough, it has been a big hit!
Roast Beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding, potato cassarole, broccoli, Cauliflower with cheese sauce, salad and of course alot of yummy gravy!!! This is the only meal that gets the whole family sitting at the table all together! That in itself is such a treat!!
Tacos always bring my family to the table, and of course turkey dinner! But shepherds pie is a comfort food that has been a favourite since childhood.
When I was growing up the most wonderful thing in the world that my mother could make was homeade bread on cold winter storm days. We would drink in that freshly baked bread aroma. I can still remember the butter melting on the bread before I was even done spreading it on with the knife. What made it even more special was that our mother was a single working mother who didn’t have a lot of time to make bread so it was extra special to us when she did it and we knew she did it out of love.
I grew up in a family of 8 children; 5 boys and 3 girls. My mom was a full-time elementary school teacher and my dad was the manager of a hotel. It was always very important to them that we all ate together around the dinner table but Sundays dinners were the best. Mom would always go all out. Sunday dinners were all about family. We have tried to continue that tradition with our kids and always ate together no matter how busy we were. Sundays are our family dinner nights now that the kids are on their own. Family together…it’s what it’s all about.
Since my children have left the nest, any time we get together I don’t want to spend in the kitchen . Anything that can be prepared earlier and done in the oven works for me. Lasagna, beef stew , or chicken in the pot…
Micheal Smith’s multigrain pancakes are the biggest favorite for my house. If I need to get a crowd out of bed, all I need to do is to start making them, and the table is full and waiting as I am done!!
Our son has severe food allergies, and even though he’s now 16, we feel more comfortable making all the meals at home (no surprises of cross-contamination). It seems the meal that everyone loves most is a salmon confit with maple syrup and served with a cilantro sauce. We love to watch Michael Smith on TV and hope one day to make it out to PEI and get to eat one of his wonderful meals.
Since it is just me and my husband, we love to try all kinds of food with spicy food always in rotation.
This time of year, we like frittatas made with whatever veggies are ripe in the garden. Tonight, I think it’ll be potatoes and tomatoes.
My toddlers come running when the watermelon is being cut up. Or the blender is being pulled out for smoothies. My sons favourite is spinach and mango.
Macaroni and Cheese. Great…now that I am thinking about it I need to make some.
my favorite childhood meal was pancakes – blueberry, strawberry, chocolate chip…My Dad was always surprising me with the flavors and different shapes that he could make pancakes in.
Growing up lasagna with fries and coleslaw was my favourite meal. Now it’s my family’s favourite too. My husband will leave work early if he knows that’s what I’m making for dinner!
My favorite meal as a child was always what is known here as goulash: Macaroni with ground beef, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, peppers and seasoning. While I have since adapted more sophisticate versions of it, I think my family would agree nothing beats the old classic!
would love to win this! michaels books are amazing!
Good old Mac&Cheese is The classic!
My Mom grew up on a farm in PEI. We still follow a family tradition of a Sunday dinner. They loves roasts with all the trimmings.
We eat dinner as a family every night and they really enjoy this Chet’s salad I make and never complain about eating vegetables.
Currently it’s only my husband and me, but nothing beats Friday night homemade pizza pies. We look forward to it all week!
Shepards pie always a big hit in our family! It is great because we always make enough for lunch the next day.
Now that my children have grown up and have children of their own, I love family dinners where we are all together. I love cooking a turkey and all the trimmings, even when it isn’t a “turkey” holiday. Nothing brings a family back together and feel like they have never been apart, than a family dinner.
My son has PKU and is on a protein restricted diet. There isn’t much we can all share as a family, but when I make brown butter mashed potatoes, there isn’t a plate in the house that isn’t cleaned off!!
My fav as a child, homemade panzerotti
Pizza has always been a favorite at our house-everyone can make their pizza their way without much effort from me!
Tacos!!
We love homemade taco night, or any extension thereof…fajitas, burritos, quesadillas. Last night I made amazing fresh enchiladas with all of the fixings, and it was a huge hit!
We have pancake night once a week. It is quick and easy to make when I get in from work and it is great to have a tradition that everyone, especially our son, enjoys. We top Canadian pancakes with maple syrup, butter, yoghurt, rhubarb sauce or anything else that strikes our fancy!
With an extended family (chinese, nova scotian, trinidadian, grenadian, etc.) it was always special to have everyone together for a meal. There was always something for everyone and I always covered every food group. It wasn’t so much about what dish was made, it was the company and family being together. Sometimes as simple as breakfast for dinner was special. Everyone has gone their separate ways and have moved across the country. I miss those times.
We love family meals and we love cooking. Nothing brings a family together more! We love to sit around the dining room table and create sushi. I say create because that is exactly what its all about. Each of us will make our own unique roll out of the ingredients we have all prepared ahead of time, and then we pass itaround, voting on which one is the best. We laugh, we talk and poke fun at one anothers creations. A truly great thing to do with kids. I know, because I have 3 of them!
A favourite childhood memory was on Sunday nights when my mom cooked roast beef and served it with polenta that was infused with fresh mozzarella and the natural juices from the roast. The smells filled the house for hours, and we couldn’t wait until it was time to sit down and enjoy the meal she worked so hard on. Thanks Mom!
I’m now making the family meals with my boys and we really enjoy making chicken and beef fajitas. I prepare the meat and my 3 boys make lots of guacamole (we love it). Then we have fun preparing and adding all our favourite toppings ( red peppers, cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc). We tend to overfill the tortillas so things can get messy but it’s so yummy and fun! (Thanks for offering such a great giveaway)
My husband loves to use his smoker and our boys love to help pick out the recipe then help Dad prepare the rubs and sauces. Helping Dad with this process helps bring the whole family together for meals and everyone has learned so much about cuts of meat, how to use certain cooking tools and we have all learned about way cool spices!
The meal we love is baked lemon lavender chicken thighs with roasted potatoes. We sigh with pleasure absolutely every time we have this dish.
One of my families favorite meal is chicken broccoli casserole. It is always a hit with them.
We love making tacos using lettuce leafs instead of torillas, it’s such a hit that we have it once a week!
Right now it almost doesn’t matter what is for dinner as long as we are in the backyard my children are thrilled. They are aged 6 and 3 so I fill a jug with ice water and they play and refill their drinks with huge grins on their faces while I prepare dinner on the bbq. Simple things that make them happy.
My favourite meal as a child was my grandma’s potato salad. Takes 2 days to make but so worth it!!
My family has always opted for anything pasta related and meatless!
One meal that will always bring my family together is of course a delicious Turkey Dinner with all the fixings. Dressing is my favorite part of the meal and cranberry sauce.
Probably the one meal that I make the most and my kids love is my scalloped potatoes and pork chops. I always make this simple dish for any special occasion. The chops are a layer in the middle of the potatoes and are extra tender because they cook in the scalloped potatoes. I have followed chef Michael now for about 10 years and have truly enjoyed trying all of his recipes. He makes them supper simple and the results are always great.
Our current favorite would be …. Enchiladas, or a complete roast beef dinner including Yorkshire pudding!!
We all love tacos with homemade refried beans. We never hear any complaints and all go away full. Also a new favorite is Blender Batter Pancakes and Waffles from sue Gregg’s website with SimpleBites Blueberry Syrup! I have made three double batches!
Family meals are very important to us & it’s hard to choose just one meal as a favourite. However, one meal that is always happily devoured is a hearty, home made beef stroganoff served with noodles. It’s the same recipe my mom made for me growing up.
I always have watched you and the one recipe I want to make but keep resisting is your bacon tart. Some day I will succumb and make it – my cousin has made it and posted it on Facebook – damn. I love PEI and I love you and your recipes. What I need is your cookbook. I’m on a pension now and money is slim, very slim.
Pancakes are the meal that my family loves. Weekend breakfasts, weeknight dinners, leftover lunches – I make the same oatmeal pancake recipe that my mom did and serve it with your molasses cinnamon syrup (a favorite!) or my homemade applesauce. It’s delicious, hearty and healthy – and I love to see them digging in. It’s also easy – which is good as I start teaching my 9- and 10-year-old more recipes and kitchen skills. Thanks, Aimee!
Sourdough waffles!
I love the recipes that Micheal shares on his TV shows. I enjoy making the recipes and seeing the looks on my husbands face when he savors the foods…I would love to win this recipe book. My husband and I really enjoyed our time on PEI last summer, (2013). the scenery is fantastic and we enjoyed some great local cuisine.
I just love Michaels books, I will need to get this one to complete my set. I get the great opportunity of meeting him in person in Montreal. One more thing checked off my bucket list.
I love getting together with family and the young ones always want fajitas or Lasagna. I made Michel’s Lasagna with lentals and it was a great hit.
Can’t wait to see the next book.
I also can’t wait for next year July
I grew up with 4 brothers eating our family Italian favorites such as lasagna or baked rigatoni in a rigid rotation. All homemade by my mother and with us helping with the dough and making meatballs. These same foods will get my brothers and extended family to my house double-quick…no one cancels and the food supports old memories while helping create new ones as we all grow and expand our families. I love Michael’s philosophy on food and family. And you have inspired me to visit P.E. Island – the plan is to go next summer. Thank you!
Pizza! My daughter has been helping to make pizza every Friday since she was just a year old!