All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: Pioneer Woman

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels-a Love Story

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

soft cover: 352 pages

"foodie" elements: yes

random excerpt: "Happy wedding," he said sweetly, leaning against the wall of the barn and motioning towards the center with his eyes. My eyes adjusted to the light...and slowly focused on what was before me.

It wasn't a pug. It wasn't a diamond or a horse or a shiny gold bangle...or even a blender. It wasn't a love seat. It wasn't a lamp. Sitting before me, surrounded by scattered bunches of hay, was a bright green John Deere riding lawn mower --a very large, very green, very mechanical, and very diesel-fueled John Deere riding lawn mower. Literally and figuratively, crickets chirped in the background of the night. And for the hundredth time since our engagement, the reality of the future for which I'd signed up flashed in front of me. p. 183-4

description (via TLC book tours): “That’s when I saw him—the cowboy—across the smoky room.”

I’ll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn’t looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I’d been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it.

Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife—and manure—than I ever could have expected.

This isn’t just my love story; it’s a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet.

It’s the story of a cowboy. And Wranglers. And chaps. And the girl who fell in love with them.

my thoughts/review: I love hearing little bits of stories and lore of what makes people ticks. I also believe in true love and soul mates and such...and therefore enjoy a good, real-life love story. This book had both of those things, but from time to time I found it a bit repetetive or drawn-out. Although I did laugh and say "aaaaaawwwwwww" quite a few times, there were also a few times when I needed a few days between picking it up and reading it again. . Because I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. Around page 150 I was ready to throw my hands up. Was the whole book really going to say the same thing over and over and over and over again?

Fortunately about fifteen to twenty pages later, things changed page and more details were thrown into the mix. I understand that this woman loved this man more than anything. It hit her and it hit her hard. But I enjoyed hearing about the funny situations this city girl found herself in on the ranch the most. I mean, how many times can we hear about the big, muscular arms of a cowboy. Or the way he grabbed her around the waist. Or nuzzled in her neck. Or chuckled. Don't get me wrong - he's dreamy, alright. And I'm happy that they found each other. But, geez Louise...take the story somewhere else.

I loved it when Ree would talk about food. The good experiences and the bad. The history behind a family recipe. The satisfaction it would bring to those who ate it. And overall, I enjoyed this book. I give it a solid LIKE. It was a great love story written in an easy-going style (just how she writes on her blog), I just found it a bit drawn out and repetetive at times. But if you are a fan of love stories and romance...or just the Pioneer Woman in general...it's worth picking up and reading.

The foodie bits woven into the memoir were some of the highlights of the story...and fortunately, Ree included some recipes to coincide with these memories at the end of the book. I was almost sure that I was going to make her famous cinnamon rolls since I've been meaning to try them for years now. I still mean to one day. But when Ree told about coming home from their honeymoon (which had been cut short) and getting acclimated in her new home and her new role as wife...and making a dish of comfort food that conjured up childhood memories, my mind changed. I knew I needed to make Chicken Spaghetti (adapted slightly to what I had on hand). It was a family-pleaser.

Chicken Spaghetti

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

Keywords: bake entree chicken pasta American

Ingredients (serves 8)

~2 lb. chicken breasts
1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti, broken into 2" pcs.
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
2½ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, separated
1 small onion, diced small
~¼ c. green bell pepper, diced small
1 (4 oz.) jar diced pimientos, drained
1 tsp. seasoned salt
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Place chicken in a pot and cover with water by an inch or two. Throw in some herbs, onions, garlic or other seasonings for the chicken, if you wish. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until cooked through, ~15 minutes. Turn off and let chicken breasts cool for 30 minutes in the broth.

Remove chicken breasts from the broth and shred them. Put the meat in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Bring broth back to a boil, adding a bit more water as needed (to cook the pasta). Add pasta and cook until al dente (according to package directions). Set a strainer over another pot or a bowl and drain pasta. Add pasta to the large bowl with the chicken. Measure out two cups of the stock you just strained the pasta from and add it to the bowl. Discard (or whatever you'd like to do) with the rest.

Add both cans of condensed soup to the bowl along with 2 cups of the cheese, the onion, bell pepper, pimiento, seasoned salt, and cayenne. Grind in as much black pepper as you'd like. Stir/toss everything together until well mixed.

Spray a large baking dish/casserole pan (I use a lasagna pan) with cooking spray and then pour in the chicken spaghetti mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly.

adapted from The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

"As it baked, the blessed casserole smelled just like it did when I was a child, which was likely the last time I'd eaten it. I marveled that the scent of a specific dish could remain in one's consciousness for over two decades." p.251

about the author: Ree Drummond, an award-winning blogger since 2006, is the star of the hit Food Network show The Pioneer Woman. In addition to her #1 New York Times bestselling cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree is the author of Charlie the Ranch Dog and The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier. She lives on a working cattle ranch near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, with her husband and their four children.

further info: blog | facebook | twitter

*I received a free copy of this book to review from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions stated in this post are 100% mine.
I am sharing this post with:
Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Simona of Briciole this week

In May '11, Gourmet posted a list of 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food) that runs the gamut from food writers to cookbook authors to television personalities to restauranteurs to chefs to food bloggers. Some are a given. Some are controversial. Speaking the names of some brings fond childhood memories. Speaking the names of others will make some readers cringe. And of course, some of our favorites were not even included. We food-lovers are a passionate bunch of people and whether we agree or disagree, every woman on this list has earned her place for a reason. Being a woman who is passionate about food (cooking, eating, talking about, writing about, photographing), when I caught wind of Mary from One Perfect Bite's idea of cooking/blogging her way through each of these 50 women...one per week...I knew I wanted to join her. Many of these women paved the way for us in culinary school, in the kitchen, in cookbooks, in food writing, and on television and I think it is a fabulous way to pay tribute to their efforts. Some of the women on the list have been tops with me for years. Some I have heard of (perhaps even seen, read, or cooked from) before. And there are even a handful that I am not familiar with at all. I excited to educate myself on each of these women game-changers and hope you look forward to reading along. We are going in order from 1 to 50.

the "Gourmet" prompt...

21. Ree Drummond- O Pioneer Woman! You rule the World Wide Web.

I don't know about ruling the www, but I see the attraction. I really do. Ree is very accessible to everybody. She serves up good food that is easy enough for pretty much anybody to make. And just in case you were to wonder how to do it, she's got step-by-step photos. An average of five hundred step-by-step photos per post. If I stop by to check out a recipe, I usually find myself skimming to the bottom of the page. I mean, do I really need to see 500 pictures of random ingredients being added to a bowl. I know what scooping flour looks like. And leveling flour. And pouring flour into a bowl. And the bowl after the flour is in it. (Take for instance this post on fry bread. The fry bread itself and the tacos made from it look stellar, and actually I don't mind the photos of it frying. It's the scooping and measuring flour and other white powdery ingredients that I don't think are necessary...sigh. That's just me. But I can scroll down, no biggie, right? Right.) Don't get me wrong, I don't mind step-by-step photos when they are necessary. I'm guilty of doing lots of them when I first started blogging, actually. But give me something cool like cutting down a side of beef, or bruleeing sugar, or stages of a complicated yeast dough. Not barbecue sauce being measured into a measuring spoon and then put into a bowl. Just sayin'. At least the pictures are clear and beautiful, though. If they were fuzzy, that would be the end-all. That said, I think she's deserving of making the list. Her food makes me hungry and she's an inspiration.

In case you've been living under a rock (or just not checking the food blog circuit), check out The Pioneer Woman to see what all the fuss is about. She also has a cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, plus another being released early next year, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier and a book chronicling the love story between her and the Marlboro Man...the one everybody loves to swoon over (yes, myself included...I love a good love story), The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story. Plus, though I haven't seen it, she has a new show on The Food Network.

Tuna Melts

slightly adapted from the Pioneer Woman (changes noted)

Servings: 6 (eh. I don't know about that...I'd say 2½ people to 5 people)

5 oz. tuna (tuna weight, not water or oil weight)

¼ c. red onion, finely chopped

¼ c. red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 Jalapeño, finely chopped

2 Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped Seemed like a lot

6 whole Sweet Gerkins, sliced I used 3...and still thought it was excessive

⅓ c. Mayonnaise

2 Tbs.Dijon Mustard

Splash Of Pickle Juice

Salt & Pepper, to taste

6 whole English Muffins, split I only had enough mixture for 5 halves

5 slices cheese (swiss, muenster, provolone) I used aged Swiss

Combine tuna with onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, eggs, and gerkins. Stir in mayonnaise, Dijon, and pickle juice. Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Place English muffin halves on a lined cookie sheet. Place a large spoonful of tuna salad on each of the English muffin halves. I used a level ¼ cup scoop for each half. Use the spoon to spread/flatten. I didn't. Put pan into the oven for five minutes, then briefly remove and lay a slice of cheese on each muffin. Return to oven and turn on broiler. My broiler is separate from my oven, so I just slid them back in the oven for 5 minutes longer. Watch carefully to avoid burning; bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Pretty. Good. Not wow. A bit too sweet...too many gherkins (and I halved the amount called for!) for me. I'll admit, my favorite version of the tuna melt is monochrome in comparison, but I love it. Could be that I grew up with it. That's the way my mom makes them. That's the way my grandma makes them. For me, that's the way they're supposed to be. But I realize as I'm talking about them, I've never actually posted them here. So I will. Soon.