I finally got a copy of Pioneer Woman's cookbook
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: recipes from an accidental country girl (by Ree Drummond) from the public library. After going through a couple dozen recipes all I can say is that I'm impressed! None of these are recipes you haven't heard before but PW has them done perfectly, with directions complete enough that only a total newbie would have any trouble following them.
Here's several of her recipes that I reviewed and want to try soon:
- BBQ Jalapeno Poppersb (jalapeno halves stuffed with cream cheese & cheddar cheese, bacon wrapped and baked)
- Pico de Gallo (her version looks good, although conventional, makes the point that tomato, onion & cilantro must be in equal parts)
- Guacamole (just avocados + pico de gallo, and don't over mash them, definitely don't process it!)
- PW's Potato Skins (almost like mine but + bacon)
- Katie's Roasted Corn Salad (just a bunch of grilled vegies, chopped, plus a dressing)
- Hot Artichoke Dip (from canned artichokes, seasoned with cayenne)
- Cinnamon Rolls (looks like a killer recipe!)
- Pizza Crust (very basic but I want to try her version)
- Potato-Leek Pizza (with bacon of course!)
- Perfect Pot Roast (very basic and conventional, but concise)
- Chicken Pot Pie (again, very basic, uses following crust)
- Perfect Pie Crust (with an egg and 1 T vinegar? I'll try it)
- Chicken Fried Steak (conventional, simple, looks delicious! egg + milk dip, seasoned flour dip, egg/milk dip again, flour dip again, pan fry them, make sauce from some drippings + milk)
- Meatloaf (she lays bacon slices over the top, then sauce & bake it)
- Twice-Baked Potatoes (I think mine are better but I wanna know, both very similar)
- Fried Chicken (again, basic and conventional, but it's simple and looks perfect)
I've looked at perhaps only one-eighth of the recipes and almost every one looks worth cooking, even the ones that resemble things I already have my own recipes for.
Her style is a bit too cutesy for me. I'm not interested in the non-cooking, biographical or philosophical stuff either. Nor the family pictures, but I
am interested in the food pictures! Pure hard core food porn!
I've made up my mind that I will definitely buy my own copy of this book. It's only $16.50 at Amazon and all I need is my next coveted book to push it over the $25 free shipping threshold.
Note: Do not confuse this with
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: food from my frontier which is her new book going to be released just this March 13th, Tuesday next week. Obviously I haven't reviewed it yet, but I intend to, and I bet it'll have some good recipes too!
So take that you PW scoffers! I give the book a hearty thumbs up!