Fall Fest Cookbook Giveaway!
We all love yummy food, especially when it is cooked with time and care and excellent ingredients. And what is even better is when those recipes come from cookbooks that make you want to just cook food for your family all day long!
I have two of those type of cookbooks to offer to you my reader. Hachette has offered me three sets of these two cookbooks for a giveaway. Yes that's right! Each of three winners will get BOTH cookbooks, both. That is a good thing because after looking though mine I have no idea which I would have told you to choose over the other, although chocolate does always win out over actual meals for me- so that would probably be my choice.
These are the books:
How to Roast a Lamb: Greek Classic Cooking By Michael Psilakis, Barbara Kafka
Chocolate: A Love Story: 65 Chocolate Dessert Recipes from Max Brenner's Private Collection By Max Brenner, Yonatan Factor
Throughout the next couple of weeks I will highlight each of these books by cooking a scrumptious recipe of my choice to share with you! I know you are drooling already, so here is how to enter to the giveaway for one set of your own books.
How to enter the giveaway:
- Comment on this post telling me what your all time favourite cookbook is, and why.
- Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post.
(leave a separate comment here telling me you did)
Sorry, open only to US and Canadian residents, and no P.O boxes please. All entries must be in by the 29th of November the winner will be chosen 30th of November. Check back then to see if you got lucky!!
EDIT: WINNERS 
Thank you to all the entrants!!!! Stay posted, I know there will be more goodies for me to offer you.
I am a Powell’s affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
Confetti Cakes for Kids
Title: Confetti Cakes for Kids
Author: Elisa Strauss with Christie Matheson
Pages: 224
Genre: Cake Cookbook,
Yearly Count b:97
Making confetti cakes now seems so much easier than it did to me before. I am amazed at this book! Confetti Cakes for Kids is filled with the most hardcore cakes I have seen in my life!. I have never made a cake as fancy as these, and even thoguh I am still pretty intimidated to do so, this book brakes down the steps, the tools and the process into a format that I could handle.
Christmas Ornament Cupcakes, Easter Sugar Cookies that are so pretty you would never have the heart to eat them (I have two little boys that wouldn't even give eating them a second thought though!!). My favourite recipe that I HAVE to try, maybe for my littlest's next birthday are the Lollipop Cookies (p. 88) they certainly are the best of both worlds, soft, buttery and sweet and full of pretty bright colours and on a stick! Yes, it really doesn't get much better, does it? YUM!
Just look at the deliciously gorgeous cupcakes!
These would work great during this season these Ornament Cupcakes (p. 125) are stunning.
photo used with permission from Confetti Cakes for Kids, taken by Paul Whicheloe
And just because at this point we need to remember that spring is coming, where bees will buzz and flowers will bloom again. Check out these Garden Mini Cupcakes (p. 115)!
The Flavor Bible
Title: The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide To Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs
Author: Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Pages: 380
Genre: Cookbook, Culinary Reference Guide
Awards: IACP Award- Winning Authors of What to Drink with What you Eat
Yearly Count b: 96
This is insanity, insanely amazing for sure! The Flavor Bible was written as a reference type guide for when you have several ingredients but enhancing their unique flavours for the best culenary experience result is just beyond you. How does it work? Well, you figure out what you are interested in working on, for me that means what I have in the fridge that I need to eat, or sometimes what I buy on impulse at our amazing Saturday Market and then blunder because I have no idea how it should even be cooked. After you have your ingredient/s you check out what pairs well with it, and for each ingredient or spice there is a crazy long list that you can drool over and choose from. And probably designed especially for me, there are sometimes parings to avoid and they are also listed, YAY!
There are also sections titled Flavor Affinities where you can plan a trio of yummy delight, or the " understanding [of] what herbs, spices and other seasonings will best bring out the flavor of whatever it is you're cooking" (p. 33). I can't wait to try some of the ones I see listed! More than a cookbook, this is a reference guide that any person who likes their food to taste good would enjoy. The Flavor Bible lists so many options for most ingredients, many times probably saving you the trip out to the store for that unnecessary item, and that extra candy bar (for the road, you know!).
Most of the book is what the authors call, Flavor Matchmaking: The Charts, but there are two other chapters as well. The first chapter is titled: Flavor= Taste + Mouthfeel + Aroma + "the X factor": Learning to Recognize the Language of Food. And really it is a great chapter emphasizing the importance of things such as saltiness, temperature, bitterness, texture, and pungency. I was intregued by "the X Factor" and that is how the food affects us emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
The second chapter is called, Great Cooking= Maximizing Flavor + Pleasure by Tapping Body + Heart+ Mind + Spirit: Communicating Via the Language of Food, seriously that is a great title as well! This Chapter discusses things such as " Understanding the Essence of the Ingredients", the " Understanding the Essence of the Moment" (p. 25)
This really is a great one, in so many ways! I actually think it is "practically perfect in every way" haha, that is no joke though, it is exquisite! Check out this video below and then you will want it even more
Katie Brown Celebrates
Title: Katie Brown Celebrates: Simple and Spectacular Parties All Year Round
Author: Katie Brown
Pages: 192
Genre: Cookbook
Yearly Count b: 94
This cookbook is amazing! I have used several of the recipes and they have been excellent, simple and yet truly spectacular. The book is set up by months, and I enjoy that as sometimes I feel out of the loop as to what to do during a season, yes I know that BBQ's are better in the summer and hot soups are better in the winter, but I mean seasonal things, and little cutesy things. This book is packed with recipes, but is also an idea book filled with how-to-make things for entertaining. I love the quilt type rustic table cloth, and the ideas for 'Spicy Invitations' which you fill little bottles with Moroccan spice and then delicately wrap your invitation around it, for the party of a lifetime! I tried the Peanut brittle and the Apple Brownies, Oh goodness! Those are things that the kids will beg me for for sure really soon, and I know this cookbook will be put to good use.
There are amazingly simple and yet stunning centerpieces. I love the one on page 165, the Cork Runner and Nuts in Vases, amazing, just perfect for that natural feel that I love. Ideas on how to design neat menus that I will probably never get with it enough to make, but if I did I would copy her style exactly. This is an idea book just as much as a recipe/ cookbook. I can't wait to try more of the recipes, I need to get me some parties set up so that I will NEED to entertain with class. Oh, and for those of us with kids there are also several sections on how to entertain a kids party, complete with cake recipes, crafts that would be fun for that age group and art things to do with kiddos.
The recipe I am dying to try next is the Deep-Dish Country Quiche, oh goodness. I have 11 chickens and soon they will all be laying, I know that when they are I will be scrounging for things to use up my beautiful fresh eggs. I know that this Quiche will be perfect, YUM!
Here are two exquisite recipes from Katie Brown Celebrates listed under the December Holiday brunch section. Enjoy them with friends and family during this season.
Tomato Bread Pudding (Katie Brown Celebrates, p. 182)
Serves 12 (makes one 13 by 9-inch pan)
This is a a great way to use up tomatoes and bread that are about to go. Combine them with cheese and spices, and you will have a delicious pudding.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Large Onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
5 Tablespoons fresh thyme
1+1/4 Cups Heavy Cream
2+1/4 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Tablespoon Salt
1+1/2 Teaspoons black pepper
2 eggs
10 Cups cubed french bread
2+1/2 Cups grated Parmesan
6 Cups Halved Cherry Tomatoes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Heat a medium-size saute pan over high heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add onion, garlic and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook until onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Place mixture in a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add cream, stock, salt, pepper, and eggs, and whisk until well combined.
3. Add bread, Parmesan, and tomatoes, tossing well to coat everything, and allow mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes. Place in a greased 13 by 9-inch pan and bake until top is golden brown and pudding is set, about 45 minutes.
Turkey Bacon Eggs (Katie Brown Celebrates, p. 180) Serves 12
What brunch would be complete without bacon and eggs? I love this dish because it combines both of them in a quick and easy fashion.
12 3-inch ramekins
Olive oil or nonstick booking spray
36 Pieces turkey bacon
4 Tablespoons Olive oil or butter
4 Shallots, Chopped fine
2 small bags baby arugula (or spinach)
12 eggs
2 cups grated Gruyere Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare ramekins by brushing insides with olive oil or spraying with nonstick spray. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around insides of each ramekin, closing all gaps around the sides. Cut the remaining 12 pieces of bacon in half. Place 2 of these pieces in bottom of each ramekin, covering all gaps.
3. heat large saute pan on high, add olive oil or butter, add shallots, and reduce heat to medium. Gently cook shallots until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add arugula to pan and cook until wilted. Remove arugula from pan and allow to cool. Squeeze out any excess water with your hands.
4. Combine eggs, Gruyere, and arugula, season with salt and pepper. (remember that the cheese will add some salt of its own. ) Fill each ramekin three-quarters full and bake until eggs are set and tops are golden and puffed, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove bacon and eggs from ramekins while hot, using towels to prevent burning yourself. Serve immediately, as eggs will loose volume as they sit.
Author Website:
Katie Brown Workshop
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