As you might already know, we have a slight addiction to cookbooks and cupcakes in this house, so when the lovely people from Duncan Baird Publishing got in touch and asked, if we’d like to add Jo Pratt’s “Madhouse Cookbook” and Juliet Stallwood’s “The Icing On The Cake” to our ever-growing cookbook collection, I instantly agreed. Fun family meals and pretty cakes are my favourites, so I just couldn’t let this opportunity pass, but this shall be enough of an introduction to this post. Let’s see what I thought of both books and keep reading, because there’ll be a lovely little giveaway at the bottom of this post!
Jo Pratt’s “Madhouse Cookbook” has something that not many cookbooks have: a cover that is so inviting that you instantly want to sit down with a pen and paper and start meal planning. Unfortunately, a week only has seven days and if we had written down everything that we liked the look of, we’d have had a meal plan sorting us out until mid-September. I am not joking! This book is amazing and just what every busy family needs in their life. It contains dozens of family-friendly meals that you can prepare ahead or simply rustle up after work and also feature delicious cakes and dishes for dinner parties with kids, which I find a particularly great idea! The food design and photography is just beautiful and I can literally not find anything negative to say about this book. It doesn’t even ask for crazy or super expensive or rate ingredients! Big thumbs up from us.
Jo Pratt’s “Madhouse Cookbook” is available in every good bookstore or on Amazon.
Now the thing with books on cake decorating is that either, the book gets its step-by-step guides right or it doesn’t and if it doesn’t, it’s not worth being in my book collection. Juliet Stallwood’s book “The Icing On The Cake”gets it right, so it now has a nice space on my almost bursting bookshelf. The book itself features a selection of different designs from celebration cakes to cupcakes and includes a chapter on all the tools you might need when recreating designs from the book. The step-by-step guides on how to achieve different cake designs are beautifully pictured and very well explained plus there is an extra chapter on tips, tricks, downloadable templates and everything else you will ever need to know when decorating cakes. All in all, this is a well thought out book and if you are after a reliable book that inspires you to get creative without driving you insane with complicated instructions, then this is the one book you should add to your collection.
Juliet Stallwood’s “The Icing on The Cake” is available in every good bookstore or on Amazon.
Now to the fun part for you. I have two book sets to give away to two lucky readers. To win, simply fill in the Rafflecopter below and as always, make sure to enter correctly as fake and incomplete entries won’t be entered into the draw. Good luck!
The Prize Finder – UK Competitions
Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of both books for the purpose of this review.
Lasagne!
A meal from one of Jo's books : feta, pea and mint pasta. It is sooo delicious and uplifting! And easy!
A nice chicken salad – at least I would stay trim, healthy and happy for the rest of my life! I adore salads!
Salad
gnocchi
Halloumi cheese salad
Porridge – forever is probably better bland.
half chicken half king prawn curry
Homemade lentil soup with crusty bread – mums recipe! xoxo
Lamb curry and popadoms
A full english roast!
Lasagne and salad
I would eat cupcakes :'')
Beef stew,dumplings, yorkshire puddings and broccoli cheese!!
a full roast dinner – lamb, roast potatoes, crispy stuffing balls, cauliflower, beans, yorkshire pudding, gravy, mint sauce.
my amazing sunday roast beef dinner
rare steak with cheesy mash & steamed broccoli
Banana cake lots of it!!
Toad in the hole with onion gravey
Roast chicken, roast potatoes, veg and gravy and hopefully I could also have chocolate for dessert!
Chip butties and lemon drizzle cake with vanilla ice cream
Pasta!
chicken masala
That's easy! Bacon rolls
Steak with blue cheese sauce
mango coated chicken breasts the first thing my now husband ever cooked for me
cheese and potatoe pie and eaton mess
cake
That's tough! Lasagne with garlic bread, roast potatoes, salad and peas – is that cheating?!
maybe cannelloni
anna m
@ummziyad
Beef Stew and Dumplings!
carbonara, yummmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy
lasagne
sausage and mash with gravy and veg
Beef curry
Past and pesto with a salad. But I would probably get bored of it eventually.
Roast chicken.
Probably some sort of casserole – chicken or sausages!
It would have to be mashed potato, cheese and beans! Unhealthy but comforting and marginally better than a take away.
Shepards Pie YummY
Spaghetti Bolognese x
lamb curry
mm, Pizza as could change the toppings!
Lemon Sole
Roast dinner with plenty of parsnips and potatoes!
Chilli with rice and tortilla chips.
balmoral chicken and chips
Lasagne – I virtually live on it now
Steak
a lovely beef stew
Cheese and tomato on toast.
Poutine!
steak & chips mmmmmmmmm
Tagliatelle
roast chicken with salad
steak
pasta with tomato sauce and cheddar cheese
Probably a roast chicken dinner with extra yorkshire puddings!
Roast dinner
Roast chicken with veg and yorkshire puddings!
Sunday dinner
Beef steak
Pasta, Tomatoes and Mozzarella!
A full roast dinner – lamb, roast potatoes, macaroni cheese, yorkshire pudding, gravy, mint sauce.
macaroni cheese!
nandos!
Pan fried scallops with a green salad , tastes naughty but very light and delicious!
sausage, mash and onion and mushroom gravy
Chicken curry with veg.
Cheesy Beans on Toast
hunters chicken mmmmmm
any kind of pasta dish
Spag bol always been a childhood fav i can't get enough of it!!
Shepherd's Pie, love it! x
Roast chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips mashed swede and cabbage
salmon baked with pesto, roast tomatoes and brown rice
Tuna Lasagna
Pizza, loads of different toppings
Beef & Ale Pie with Mash
Victoria sponge cake
Macaroni Cheese with tomatoes & bacon! I'd be as fat as a pig!
Pasta with veggies & cheese : )
Spag bol with homemade garlic bread!
Pork chops with mash, veg and gravy
possibly spaghetti carbonara
Chicken Caesar Salad
Steak and chips
beef stew and dumplings
rissotto
Roast beef and Yorkshire puddings!!
Pizza!
Shepherds pie
Fruit salad
Jacket potato with chilli and cheese
Roast dinner…. gammon probably – with all the trimmings!
A lovely Roast Beef and Yorkshire pud dinner!
Sunday Roast
half chicken half king prawn curry :
Shepherd's Pie.
Lasagne and salad
I would have caramel ice cream!
x