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Friday, October 30, 2009

Cooking the Cowboy Way by Grady Spears

I have to admit, when I hear about a cookbook that touts country or cowboy cooking, I tend to shy away from it. I've had my fill of cookbooks with cobblers, sourdough biscuits, stews and chicken fried steaks in dutch ovens. There's so much more to ranch/country cooking than that.


By living right and watching my P's and Q's.. (that's the only reason I can think of :)).. the very nice lady from the Andrews McNeel Publishing Company in Kansas City sent another cookbook for me to check out.
This is a book by cowboy chef Grady Spears titled Cooking the Cowboy Way.
(with June Naylor)
In MY eyes Grady had a big strike against him from the get go by living and cooking in a city. Ft Worth to be exact. What could a city boy know about cowboy cooking?

I was wrong....











I'm an avid outdoor cook... so I spent several days pouring over Grady's book looking for a reason to dislike it. lol I couldn't fine one....not one.

It's a great book! Grady knows his stuff.

Grady IS a cowboy, has worked in the saddle. Also knows that there is such a thing as a "Cowboy code".

From his book...

"The cowboy's world has been idealized in film and books, but the real cowboy's life is far from glamorous. "

"Few folks understand that a real cowboy lives by a code defined by respect for hard work and an understanding of the rhythms of nature."

That caught my attention. Grady knows and understands what it takes to live the cowboy/cowgirl life and he knows that it takes more than cobblers, biscuits and beans to keep a ranch hand happy. :)

His book "Cooking the Cowboy Way" is a collection of recipes from across the U.S. and Canada. Ranch cooks, cowgirls and cowboys who live the life and know how to tend a fire are creating dishes such as Grilled Oysters with Pico, Ranchero Grilled Quail and Blackened Grouper with Orange Remoulade.

It's a great collection of what's cookin' in the back yards and pastures across the ranching community. More than biscuits and beans.... actual stick to your ribs, hearty feasts fit for hard working cowgirls like me. :)

I'm looking forward to giving these recipes a try!

Hat's off to you Grady Spears. You've earned this cowgirl's respect......now I'm off to look for more of your books. :) lol

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

HEY SAP! I'm a city kid....well I'm really a country kid that happens to be stuck in the city.
I want out!

Big Dude said...

After seeing the meals you make over an open fire, I'd say your endorsement of the book is high praise.

cowgirl said...

lol Sap! Get in your pickup and head west... well, south west. :)

cowgirl said...

Big Dude, that's mighty nice of you to say!! I do enjoy outdoor cooking.
I'm pretty fond of the great looking feasts that you are cooking up on your blog too!!
Thank you Big Dude!

Paul said...

Good lookin' chowder Jeanie...just saying..I like to add a touch of sherry to my clam chowder. :)

Paul said...

Oh yeah, I prefere your cowgirl way of cooking :)

Chris said...

Very entertaining review, especially your acknowledged bias at first because of him being a "city slicker".

So cowboys and cowgirls have a code. Is it kind of like the pirates Code of the Brethren? Parlay! (ha ha)

Thanks for posting the review, I'll keep an eye out for the book.

cowgirl said...

Thank you Paul! I'll give that sherry a shot next time. :)

cowgirl said...

Thanks Chris,
I was set not to like the book.lol
I've seen so many dutch oven cobblers and biscuits, I was sure this would be more of the same.
I found some recipes I really want to try...and you know me, I'm, going to put my own twist on them. :)

The cowboy/cowgirl code IS a lot like the pirate brethren code. lolol!

Thanks Chris!

tjus77 said...

Thanks for the info cowgirl, I will be adding to my xmas list. If I can wait that long... lol

tjus77

cowgirl said...

Hi tjus, Nice to see you!

I saw the book in a Hastings store today. If you have one nearby, you could skim through it and see if you like any of the recipes.
Hope Santa is good to you this year. lol

Thanks! :)