BOOK REVIEWS Courtesy of Beaverdale Books
Courtesy of Beaverdale Books
‘The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl’
By Ree Drummond
William Morrow Cookbooks
11/01/09
$27.50
247 pp
“The Pioneer Woman Cooks” is exactly what one would expect from Ree Drummond’s first foray into print; it’s a combination cookbook and photo essay of her life on a working cattle ranch, just like her blog, ThePioneerWoman.com. Her site receives 10,000 hits a day from people looking for her amazing recipes, spectacular pictures and the sweet stories of her life on the ranch. The recipes are stunning; each step is captured with photos, making even complex processes seem simple. None of the recipes are too difficult however; this is country food — meant to be served on paper plates and in huge portions.
The book is divided into sections (like Supper and Dinner) and most of the recipes have a figure of a cowgirl or cowboy, indicating which dishes are perfect for starving ranchers (PW Potato Skins) and which are more suited to a cocktail party (Potato-Leek Pizza). Interspersed with all this deliciousness (don’t miss the Macaroni and Cheese) are funny stories and hundreds of pictures. The book is really a work of art. Be sure to read her fairytale-like switch from city girl to rancher’s wife. The story is so perfect for Hollywood, it is being developed into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon.
This book is easy to recommend for the yummy food and for the heartfelt stories and gorgeous pictures of the ranch that bring this book to life. Get two copies, one for the kitchen and one for the coffee table. But whatever you do, don’t skip the last page, trust me. CV — Review by Julie Goodrich
