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My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a cute little book with delicious recipes! The Mini Cheese Muffins are delectable. Light with subtle flavors that go well with many things, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Next up, I picked up a farm-fresh, whole chicken, so I made Spring Chicken. Oh, my!! This little book is worth it for this recipe alone!! The chicken was incredibly moist with a lovely flavor, and the baby potatoes were sensational!! My family couldn’t quit raving over this recipe and has already requested me to make it again. In full disclosure, I did not parboil the potatoes, I just put them in with the chicken after about 30 minutes instead of 45. They were amazing!!

From Classic Pea and Asparagus Risotto to Thai Fishcakes, Queen of Puddings with Lemon and Elderflower Curd, Glamorgan Sausages and Welsh Rarebit, this cookbook has a nice variety of flavors to delight the palate. It was a joy to cook from, and I’m happy to recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from IPG books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was a little surprised when this cookbook arrived–it was smaller than I was expecting. Don’t let it fool you, though! There’s a lot packed in this little book!!

We started with the Cinnamon Rolls. My 17-year-old made them, and at first she was not impressed. She definitely has a sweet tooth, and is used to sweet rolls with very sweet icing on them. These are very different with emphasis on subtle spice flavor (the cardamom really shines through nicely). I fell in love with them immediately. It took the second roll for my daughter to decide that they were actually really good.

Next I made Shower Rolls. If you like a chewier, somewhat dense bread, you’ll love these! I absolutely loved them!! They were wonderful fresh out of the oven with butter on them. The next day I sliced two open, pulled out some of the insides to make a cavity and filled them with tuna salad for my lunch. Scrumptious!!

While we haven’t made a lot out of this book yet, there is a whole list of items we are planning to make for the upcoming holiday season! Walnut Kisses, Vanilla Cookies, Finnish Sugar Cookies, Almond Cookies…well, the list just keeps going.

Don’t think this book is just about sweets, though, there are lovely savoury recipes as well whether it be open faced sandwiches, Asparagus Tartlets, Rye Crackers or Sausage Bread Rolls, there is lots to choose from in this charming little book.

I received a copy of this book from Hardie Grant Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With no summer to speak of and a blink-and-you-missed-it fall, I was excited to dip into this book from “the sunshine islands”! We started with Jamaican Beef Patties, a kind of meat turnover that is absolutely delicious!! I have a weird skin thing with hot peppers (I cannot prep fresh peppers without my skin burning for HOURS!), so we left the scotch bonnet out. They were still quite delicious! If you like hot peppers, this cookbook is definitely for you!! A large portion of the recipes all for some kind–and occasionally multiple kinds–of hot peppers.

We had some bananas that needed to be used up, so we made the Sunshine Banana Bread next. I like the mixed spice and addition of a little coconut. It added a little something different to the bread. It is quite delicious!!

There is a lovely mix of recipes in this cookbook alongside gorgeous photography that makes you want to book the next flight out! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am happy to recommend it.

I received this book from Trafalgar Square Publishing through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Simple baking with 3 ingredients? I’m in!! This cookbook intrigued me as baking usually uses a lot more ingredients. The first recipe I noticed was the Peanut Butter Cookies. We have been making these for years as we have friends that have celiac, so can’t have gluten. When they’re visiting, we can’t keep these stocked up they are so popular!! Quick, easy and delicious, these are great little cookies!

Next up I tried the Chocolate Hazelnut Mug Cakes for Two. I was really excited about these, but they didn’t really come through. They didn’t rise very much, and the texture was less than ideal, though the flavor was okay.

I was making a Greek main dish a few days later, so we tried the Mini Baklava Bites. First off, make sure you cool them first!! This sounds easier than it is. They smell so good you just want to bite right in, but that honey is HOT! While these don’t have the more complex flavors of a traditional baklava, neither do they have the long, labor intensive process of making them. 5 minutes at most and they’re in the oven, and they are quite delicious!

There are many more recipes I want to try in this lovely cookbook. It’s great for getting something sweet made fast. I definitely recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from Robert Rose Inc. for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Greek food, and I love the convenience of my slow cooker. I’ll be honest, thought. I wasn’t sure how the recipes would be. All I can say is….Oh, my!! I decided on Spicy Country-Style Beef Sausages with Mixed Bell Pepper. It sounded pretty good, and could do its thing while we were at church. You should have heard the exclamations when we walked back in the front door! The house smelled AMAZING!! I had some lovely Greek pita bread to eat with it and, well, let’s just say we completely wiped out the entire slow cooker!! The bread is a must for sopping up the delectable sauce. I could eat this again and again!

Well, that turned out so well we moved on to White Wine Chicken with Orzo. It looked nice and easy for my daughter to cook while I was at work, and sounded good. Believe it or not, the family loved it even more than the first recipe!! (I have to admit, nothing has topped the sausages and bell peppers for me, yet!). So easy to make and absolutely delicious! I took leftovers for lunch the next day and it was still so good. I got multiple comments of “That smells good!”.

My daughters love pasta, so we then made My Go-To Fresh Pasta Sauce. I didn’t have the fresh tomatoes, so substituted canned crushed tomatoes. Well, it was still great. Needless to say, supper disappeared pretty quickly that night.

There is so much more to try and love from this book. We haven’t done any of the breads or desserts yet, but they are on my list to try. This cookbook isn’t going anywhere. I know I’ll be cooking from it again and again!!

I received a copy of this book from Page Street Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the kind of cooking I like; honest, not pretentious, satisfying food. I couldn’t wait to jump in, so I immediately made a batch of Roasted Garlic. My house smelled amazing!!! It’s so flexible. You can use it for anything, such as garlic mashed potatoes my daughter made later. Delicious!

We then moved to breakfast and my daughter made the Dutch Baked Baby. My girls LOVE dutch pancakes! However, while she said it wasn’t bad, it also wasn’t the best one they’ve ever had. Not a loss, but not really a win, either.

Fall is moving in here in South Dakota, so I wanted a nice warming meal of rotisserie chicken (or use How to Roast a Chicken–delicious!!) and Roasted Root Vegetables. The parsnips were very woody–not the fault of the recipe, just not great parsnips–but everything else turned out excellent. Speaking of warming meals, you can’t go wrong with Hearty Cheddar and Potato Soup or the classic Chicken Soup!

If you’re a seafood lover like me, try the Super Easy Mussels, Garlic and Bread. Quick, easy and so delicious!!

There are still some great recipes I can’t wait to try such as Spinach, Onion and Cheese Tart, Snowy Day Lentil Soup and Fudgy Brownies, just to name a few. I know this cookbook will be sticking around to be used again and again.

I received a copy of this book from Countryman Press for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel Khoo is well known for her Little Paris Kitchen, and her Little French Kitchen, but now she takes her little kitchen far away to beautiful Sweden.

This is a lovely cookbook filled with gorgeous photos and delectable recipes. On my first flip through I saw the Hazelnut and Apple Cakes and knew we HAD to make them! I was not disappointed! We are somewhat split, though. I think they were absolutely amazing still warm from the oven, but my daughter swears that eating them cold from the refrigerator is the best way. Either way, they are a delicious morsel that leaves you wanting more.

I have been craving beef stew, but the weather was just too hot. Fall has decided to come (with winter hovering right on its heels) here in South Dakota and we finally got some chilly days–perfect weather for beef stew! I opted for Rachel’s Swedish Beef Stew, and I was not disappointed. There are ingredients you normally don’t think of as being typical for beef stew (my family still doesn’t know there were anchovies in it!), but they somehow come together for a delightful dish. I love the depth the fresh ground allspice gave it. They only way I deviated from the recipe is instead of cooking the potatoes and serving them separately, I put them in the stew the way my husband likes it, and we didn’t serve the pickled beets or pickled onions, either.

There are still dishes I want to make. I love Veal Saltimbocca, so I would love to try her Venison ‘Saltimbocca’, I just need to get my hands on some venison. I’m fresh out right now. The Toasted Pearl Barley Mushroom Risotto looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try the Apple and Cheese Spelt Buns.

There is plenty to delight in this book. The food is such as will warm you on those cold days, or celebrate the warm ones. Pull up a chair and take a quick trip to Sweden through the pages of this book. You’ll enjoy the ride!

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square Publishing through IPG Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a gorgeous book! From the quality of the cover/binding to the gorgeous photos and fascinating recipes, I really enjoyed this book.

Flipping through the book, Migas caught my eye. I love the ‘cucina povera’ type cooking, though it cracks me up that recipes that used to be made by the poor people because it’s what they had can be quite expensive to make as some of those ingredients are now pricey for us to get hold of! Migas is one of those dishes. Stale bread combines with chorizo, pine nuts, hazelnuts, marcilla (a Spanish black pudding I neither really wanted or could even find), sherry and more to create a flavorful and filling dish. It was quite easy to make, and I really enjoyed it.

My husband is watching what he eats, counting macros, etc, so when I saw Prawns Cooked in Salt, I knew I had to make them for him. Wow! These are so easy to make, and the flavor is lovely!! The same night I made Potato & Chorizo Stew for the rest of us. In full disclosure, I could not find anywhere in town the type of chorizo you can cut into chunks (the joys of living in South Dakota!), so for this recipe I actually used beef smoked sausage instead. It was delightful!! We all thoroughly enjoyed it!!

To finish us off, my daughter decided to make Thin Apple Tart. Well, it definitely didn’t turn out quite the way it was supposed to as she misunderstood some of the directions, but the flavor was still there, and there was nothing left of it that night!!

This is a charming book giving a peek into a Spanish kitchen that is sure to delight. We’ve enjoyed it, and I think you will, to!

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square Publishing through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Mary Berry Cookbooks and was so excited to get this one! It has some great recipes…and at least one really bad one! We tried the Honey Chicken first. Wow. It was awful! The sauce was really terrible. We tried fixing it, but it just was not fixable. I literally ended up washing the sauce off of the chicken, we shredded it and added barbeque sauce and had pulled chicken sandwiches the next day!

On the bright side, the next recipe we tried was Chicken with Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil and it was awesome! It was so flavorful and delicious–we all loved it!! The One Tray Sausage Supper is easy to make and quite yummy! My family are not huge fans of beets (though I personally think they are fabulous roasted like this!), so I leave them off most of the time. Just add a few more potatoes and carrots and it’s still great! For a great side dish, try Masses of Mash–a variety of flavorful mashed potatoes to go with a good meat dish.

There are tons of recipes I still want to try: Individual Cheese, Tomato & Thyme Tartlets, Beef Bourguignon, Treacle Tart and Baked Lemon Curd Cheesecake to name a few.

Overall, this is a delightful cookbook, just as I knew it would be. Just ignore the Honey Chicken recipe and you’ll be good!

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Mary Berry’s cookbooks, so I couldn’t wait to give this one a try!! The first recipe to catch my eye on the initial fan through the book was the Romano Pepper and Herb Penne. Oh, my!! It is so easy to make, and it is quite simply delicious!! I made it for Sunday dinner and it was a huge hit.

The next dish we tried was the Spiced Chicken Lettuce Cups. They were pretty good, but just a bit sweet. The general consensus is that they were good, but not great. Nutty Wholemeal Couscous Salad is quite easy and delicious. I love the extra crunch and taste from the pistachios. French Buttered Potatoes are an easy side dish.

There are still plenty of recipes I want to try such as the Pan-Fried Spiced Falafel, Spiced Roasted Squash and Chocolate Cappuccino Tart to name a few.

This is a delightful cookbook that any Mary Berry fan would love to own.

I received a copy of this book from Trafalgar Square through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.