{Cookbook Review}The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

by alice on October 26, 2009 · 238 comments

ThePioneerWomanCooksCB

Like millions of others out there, I love Ree Drummond a.k.a “The Pioneer Woman”. Her ability to share her writing and giftings with the world in such an authentic manner is why I love and admire her so much. She is humble, funny, and generous and it shows in her blog. I’ve always appreciated how she comes along side her readers giving them the encouragement they need to learn something as if she is your dearest friend and biggest cheerleader. She is for them, she is for me. Never does she speak down to her readers with a voice of “expert” but as one who passionately loves to share the good things in life with her audience.

AliceandReeSFO

-photo by Arnold of Inuyaki.com-

Last month I had the privilege of finally meeting her in San Francisco during Blogherfood. She is even more wonderful, gracious, and genuine than I could have imagined. So it was with much anticipation I looked forward to her cookbook being released tomorrow. And fortunately for me as an attendee of the conference I was able to receive a preview copy.

In her cookbook “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl“, readers will recognize Ree’s familiar voice of friend and coach. Each recipe in this cookbook is real country cooking in all its glory. None of the dishes are over complicated, just simple home cooking at its finest. My husband calls it “man food”. And for the record, he lives for man food! Honestly, her recipes are similar to the ones his grandma used to make for him growing up and he was very fond of Granny Gayle and her cooking. But now Granny Gayle is cooking with the angels in Heaven but her cooking lives on in our home through Ree’s cookbook.

One cannot help but imagine being transported to Ree’s Ranch when preparing and eating these dishes. Every dish has detailed step-by-step photos (tons of photos!) and instructions making it virtually impossible for home cooks to fail. The recipes are not hard to execute and many of the ingredients are items likely in your home already.

Earlier in the week I prepared Skillet Cornbread from her cookbook and it was wonderful! The recipe can be found here. Coincidentally, tomorrow is my birthday which is the official release date of Ree’s cookbook. As a pre-birthday celebration, yesterday my husband with the help of my daughters (who know how to operate my Kitchenaid) surprised me by baking Ree’s French Breakfast Puffs out of her cookbook. To some, this would not seem like a big deal, but for me it is totally a big deal! Just as an FYI, my husband does not cook or bake. You could imagine my shock when the kids brought a plate of muffins to my bed and he explained they baked these for me. They were a huge hit in our family!! If Rob can bake these, anyone can bake and cook out of this cookbook. Thank God Ree included lots of pictures to help him! On a funny note, Rob documented the whole process with my camera while I was sleeping. (Notice the kids birthday candle?!)

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This cookbook is a gift of love.. from her family to yours. I would highly recommend this cookbook for anyone who loves real home cooking like chicken fried steak, buttermilk biscuits and red velvet cake. Her photos, story-telling, and recipes will make this cookbook a treasured piece in your kitchen. Get your Holiday shopping done early and order a few copies now! Perfect timing for Christmas presents!

For 1 lucky person, I am giving away a SIGNED COPY of “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl“ All you have to do is leave a comment about your favorite home-style dish or why you love Ree too. US Addresses only please. Contest will close Saturday, 10/31 at 9pm PST.

Contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered.

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Tagged as: cookbook, giveaway, the pioneer woman

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della October 29, 2009 at 7:15 am: I love reading the Pioneer Woman every day. From the many recipes that I’ve used from the site the Apple Dumplings have to be our family favorite with the blue cheese steak sauce being second. I would love to have a signed copy of the book because my chances of getting to a location are slim to none! Just found your site and am enjoying it.
Lindsay October 29, 2009 at 7:21 am: I love Pioneer Woman’s sense of humor. Her randomness makes me laugh and feels familiar to me, being a bit random myself. She also reminds me of home, since I’m from Kansas. My husband loves anything cooked in a skillet, so she provides lots of great ideas in that realm.
SP October 29, 2009 at 7:33 am: I ADORE Ree’s dry sense of humor. I start my day every morning with The Pioneer Woman. Her, cows, MM, punks and coffee. That’s how I roll in the am.
Wendi October 29, 2009 at 9:09 am: I heart Ree because she keeps it real.
Cindy October 29, 2009 at 9:11 am: You are right to name this a generational recipe, Alice. I’ve had many a pieces of cornbread similiar to the this recipe made my mom, gramma and greatgramma. Each of them, including myself, bake/baked our cornbread (usually served with gi-normous kettle of ham & beans) in a pre-heated iron skillet just like Ree! This is my first post to a blogsite – the contest for the Ree’s cookbook inspired me to do so! : )
Jessica October 29, 2009 at 9:22 am: I love Ree because she makes real food I enjoy and can relate to. She’s great! My favorite home-style meal is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, gravy and corn. YUM!!!
sarah October 29, 2009 at 9:31 am: I love Ree because there is always something that either sparks a memory of childhood, or that I can totally relate to now as a mother. Her cooking is honest and delicious.
Jennifer H October 29, 2009 at 10:04 am: I love Ree’s candid style of writing, her sense of humor, but I love her recipes best of all. I haven’t made anything from her that has turned out poorly.
Kimberly October 29, 2009 at 10:44 am: I love everything I’ve made from PW! We ate a ton of lemon pasta this summer…..yum!
Diane October 29, 2009 at 10:52 am: My favorite home-style dish is biscuits and gravy. I love Ree’s stories and photos and her food looks delicious, she makes it easy for you to relate to her.
Melissa Wagner October 29, 2009 at 11:07 am: We LOVE Ree’s Chicken Spaghetti recipe – yummy! And Ree cracks me up, she’s one of my favorite blogs to read.

Thanks for the entry!
Joy October 29, 2009 at 1:06 pm: I always wonder if I’m Ree’s oldest(73yrs)fan. Her entire website delights me and often I look at her recipes for ideas and direction for meals or treats to cook. I’ve done a lot of cooking over my lifetime and bringing up my own four children. I have a Marlboro Man but he’s not a cowboy.

I know that the best foods are those made with happiness and love for those who will consume whatever is prepared. Somehow, Ree includes her husband, children and everyone else, including readers in this concept and feeling when she cooks.
Vicki M. October 29, 2009 at 1:10 pm: Hi, I really enjoy Ree’s website and your’s looks like one I will enjoy. This is my first time here.

I love home made yeast rolls, breads and coffee cakes. And if you add a little something like cheese cake filling to a coffee cake I am in heaven!
Hilltop Farmwife October 29, 2009 at 1:49 pm: My whole family loves Ree’s onion sticks. They are the best onion “rings” I’ve ever made. My daughter introduced me to the Pioneer Woman blog and we have had lots of laughs and “oh my gosh that’s just like……(someone we know or something that happened to us).
Karen October 29, 2009 at 2:30 pm: I just love Ree’s website and Charlie…..
Deborah Laws October 29, 2009 at 2:59 pm: Thanks for the chance to win a great cookbook. I’m a big fan of Ree’s site and have made many of her recipes. My husband especially loved the potato bundles. They are almost like scalloped potatoes but extremely easy to make on the barbeque!
Farmer Gab October 29, 2009 at 3:05 pm: I love to make Smokey Mac & Cheese (smoked gouda & granny smith apples) because it tastes like heaven AND because it puts smiles on the faces of my angels!
kate October 29, 2009 at 3:37 pm: Reading Ree’s blog always makes me happy…and hungry!
Linda C October 29, 2009 at 4:12 pm: I like reading Ree’s blog because she is so real- the first recipe that caught my eye was her make-ahead mashed potatoes- now there’s some serious butter in that recipe- and no apologies!:)
Yudith October 29, 2009 at 6:55 pm: I saw her bacon-wrapped jalapeno recipe and was sold! I have never had anyone that could convince me that 2-ingredients appetizer could be so incredible. Everyone loves it, and now I get asked to bring these to dinner gatherings.
Robin October 29, 2009 at 7:02 pm: I love to cook and try new things so I don’t really have a “favorite meal”. But if I had to choose a last meal it would be one I requested from my grandmother for my birthday every year. Fried chicken, mashed potaotes, fried okra, mac and cheese salad, homemade yeast rolls and pecan pie for dessert. (Yea I was a chunky kid):).

Being from the South I grew up eating the kind of food Ree makes in her kitchen. I love the fact so many people are finding her food so comforting and easy to prepare. My only regret is that I didn’t think about doing it first. Congrats to Ree and all her success!
Julie Mann October 29, 2009 at 7:19 pm: I love her website and every recipe I have made has been wonderful: olive cheese bread, chicken spaghetti, mm sandwich, brisket, jalapeno stuffed things….. plus many more, I’m sure, just can’t remember right now.
Julie I. October 30, 2009 at 7:55 am: Thank you for sharing Ree’s Skillet Cornbread Recipe. I’ll be trying this recipe for sure, as most are too sweet for my husband’s liking. I love the Pioneer Woman woman website… she shares beautiful photos, tasty recipes and hilarious stories!
Cindy October 30, 2009 at 12:50 pm: I found Ree’s blog about a year ago and followed the Black Heels to Tractor Wheels story. What a hoot! I also love her no nonsense approach to comfort food and her writing in general. She makes me laugh. My current favorite of hers is the Asian Noodle Salad and my boys love the Chicken spaghetti like MM. I have been looking forward to her book. Her photography is beautiful, it must make for a great book.

PS Did we ever find out why MM waited 6 months to ask her out?? I missed that part of the story.
Carol Miller October 30, 2009 at 2:46 pm: Quite by accident I stumbled upon PW’s website. As soon as I read her story of falling in love with a cowboy, I was captivated. I started reading her recipes and now I’m hooked. My husband and I love so many of her recipes – twice baked potatoes (to die for), chicken parmesan, creamed spinach, her method for grilling steaks with blue cheese sauce. Have you tried her burgers? Yum! She’s a treasure of home – and homey – cooking.
Loretta October 30, 2009 at 6:08 pm: I have made several of Ree’s recipes from her website. Every one has been a suprisingly big hit with my family. Ree is straightforward and so are her recipes. I had searched high and low for a Tres Leche cake recipe that I really liked — Ree’s recipe was the one that was outstanding and a total keeper. The next recipe I’m going to try are her bacon wrapped crackers.
Katie Beth October 30, 2009 at 8:35 pm: I’ve always loved my grandmother’s macaroni and cheese, passed down to her daughters and to their children. It’s perfectly yummy, and it has white sauce, which is always a plus. I love white sauce….

I love Ree because hers was the only explanation that could make me understand aperture and shutter speed.
carly October 31, 2009 at 8:11 am: i love the pioneer woman too! i love her picts and step by step instructions…and also her wittiness and no-fear to use full fat ingredients. i would love to spend time in her kitchen while she was preparing a meal…

my fav recipe would be the bbq meat balls, they are a man-pleaser!!!

pretty please, pick me!!
SavingDiva October 31, 2009 at 8:27 am: I love mashed potatoes!
Kristin Price October 31, 2009 at 9:34 am: My husband love Man-Food too! I would love to win! Please pick me! My favorite homestyle dish is Mac & Cheese!
Minde Briscoe October 31, 2009 at 11:10 am: Ree keeps me from feeling alone as a stay at home mom. She makes me laugh and sometimes tear up. On my worst days it’s like there is always a friend no further than my fingertips. Also, every recipe I’ve tried from the Cooks portion of the site has been both easy and delicious. She’s aces in my book.
Theresa October 31, 2009 at 12:59 pm: I love PW – we haven’t had anything bad yet…my favortie thing is taht everything is so simple to make, or at least Ree makes you think that. Thanks for sharing a copy of her book!
Leann October 31, 2009 at 3:15 pm: My favorite home meal is meatloaf,mashed potatoes and green beans. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

I’ve only been reading the Pioneer Woman’s blog for a short time but I have fallen in love with her. I’m planning on getting her cookbook soon.
Karen K October 31, 2009 at 7:08 pm: I loved reading Ree’s Black Heels to Tractor Wheels stories. They made me laugh and cry and say “Awww!”. I am very sad that the story has concluded. At least on paper. I say we protest and riot until she gives in and tells us more of that story!

Love how she uses REAL butter, full fat stuff. That is the stuff yumminess is made of.
Teri October 31, 2009 at 7:40 pm: I love her easy recipes and how to’s. Her pics are great too! My kids love her steak bites.
alice October 31, 2009 at 9:23 pm: The contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner will be announced soon! Feel free to continue to leave comments regarding PW or her cookbook.

Alice