Cowgirl Cuisine: Rustic Recipes and Cowgirl Adventures from a Texas Ranch

308 Pages·2007·20.1 MB·English

by  Paula Disbrowe

Cowgirl

Cuisine
Rustic Recipes and Cowgirl
Adventures from a Texas Ranch
Paula Disbrowe
Photography by Shelly Strazis
Ranch Breakfasts iii
For David, with love
Ranch Breakfasts v
Contents
acknowledgments vii
Introduction: a door opens ix
Ranch Breakfasts xiii
Big-Hearted Salads 44
Nourishing Soups 72
Awesome Appetizers 100
Charming little Sandwiches
and a Belt-Busting Burger 132
Ring the Dinner Bell 146
Hearty Sides with a Ranch-Style Kick 206
Simple, Seductive Desserts 230
Lethal Libations 268
Epilogue: Ranches and rivers 282
index 285
about the author
credits
cover
copyright
about the publisher
Ranch Breakfasts vii
Ac know ledg ments
I
couldn’t have written this book without the help and support of plenty of great people.
I am lucky, and grateful, to have them in my corner.
Enormous thanks to my literary agent, Janis Donnaud, who believed in this outside-o f-t he-
box book from the beginning, and who fought with her characteristic tenacity to make it a real-
ity. Thanks for demanding my best work.
Thanks to the entire team at HarperCollins. I am extremely fortunate to have worked with
Harriet Bell, a notoriously deft editor, on my fi rst book. Thanks for helping it become the book I
always wanted to write. Thanks also to Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich, for a knockout jacket; and
to Leah C arlson- Stanisic for an insanely fun and sexy book design.
The stars also aligned when I crossed paths with Shelly Strazis, my talented photographer, soon
after I moved to the ranch. I had a gut feeling she’d be the perfect person to shoot this book—and
she was. We both love things a little quirky, a little sexy, and think there are few things fi ner than a
great animal portrait. I am grateful for her talent, whimsy, generosity (schlepping cross-c ountry
props!), hard work, and the spectacular photographs that have made this book so fun to look at.
Photo shoots are always stressful endeavors, with countless details to juggle. The pro cess is
even more challenging in rural isolation, with no catered cappuccinos, and the nearest grocery
store thirty miles away. We couldn’t have pulled it off without Shelly’s tireless assistants, Brad
Rochlitzer and Andrea Gomez, and my friend Melissa Garnett who went above and beyond, as
an offi cial recipe tester, making last- minute shopping trips, ironing cowgirl shirts, and keeping
us fed and laughing. David also took care of us with his great cooking, fi re building, smart cre-
ative input, and basically keeping me calm. Thank you, Shelley Thomas, for zipping down from
Seattle for the fi rst shoot when I needed you—and hoisting straps, lending your abundant style,
and keeping me laughing in front of the camera as I knew you would. Thanks to Brian Smale and
Calvin and Charlotte Rose for letting her come. Thanks to Angela Romero for keeping the
kitchen running smoothly and coffeepots full, and for your essential sweetness.
Thanks to Dorothy Winston, the own er of Julien’s home store in Uvalde, for lending us many
of the gorgeous plates, utensils, and linens in this book—you made this book more beautiful.
Thanks to Kit and Carl Detering for having the chutzpah to hire us, and to their children,
Cassie and Carlos, for welcoming us into their spectacular corner of the world. Thank you for
generously supporting our interest in raising animals and having a garden, and for enthusiasti-
cally sharing your Texas. Special thanks to Kit for the adventures that stretched from Mexican
bingo parlors in Nuevo Laredo to the Plaza Athénée in New York, and for always being the fi rst
person to say “thank you” after a meal.
For lending their keen editorial skills as proofreaders, thanks to Peter Romeo, Clay Smith,
Cate C onniff- Dobrich, Melissa Clark, and especially Amanda Hesser, who has been an encourag-
ing and supportive friend. I am indebted to my friend Adam Sachs, who lent his sharp eye to the
vii
ranch vignettes. His suggestions tightened this book—and saved me from my most sentimental
self.
Two friends provided a clean, well-l ighted space to work when I needed a break from my be-
loved distractions. Thank you, Terry McDevitt (and Kathy Garza and Diego the cat), for sharing
the beautiful refuge that is Casa Luna in Helotes, Texas. And thanks to Monica O ’Toole for offer-
ing an urban escape in Chicago (and stocking the fridge with yogurt and sparkling water).
Love and gratitude to Craig and Melissa Garnett for friendship, fl autas, and showing me that
life can be a Fellini fi lm anywhere you live. Our time in Texas has been infi nitely richer because
of you, and the other wonderful people you introduced us to, including Danny and Celina Les-
kovar, Buzz and Nancy Barton, Gina and Giovanni Piccinni, and David and Gabrielle Forbes.
Thanks to our friends in Rio Frio, especially George and Beverly Streib, Willis Springfi eld, and
Sharon Purnell, for friendship, laughter, and beautiful h orse back rides.
Thanks to Rebecca Rather for being such a generous friend and wonderful partner for many
Texas adventures.
Thanks to our veterinarians for plucking out hundreds of porcupine quills, clipping Max’s
hooves, and patiently fi elding my countless queries about cats, dogs, h orses, sheep, and goats,
including Dr. Teresa Coble, Dr. Tracy Colvin, Dr. “Salty” Arnim, Dr. John Barnes, and especially
Dr. Pete Vaden for laughs, tall tales, and cold beer.
Thank you to the women in Eur ope who invited me into their kitchens, including Patricia
Wells, Kathie Alex, and especially Janet Hansen and Maria Martinez Sierra.
Thanks to my many other friends and family, who helped David and me navigate Texas, tested
recipes, or simply loved and encouraged me through this wild ride and tolerated that certain
tone in my voice when I was trying to meet deadlines: April Sachs, Brenda Nelson and Tom Van
den Bout, Danielle and Neil Teplica, Chip Wass, Babs Chernetz, Beth Traynor, Gabrielle Hamilton,
Suzanne Goin, Dr. Mary Ann Flatley, Susie Morris and her extended family, Noel McKay, Hollin
and JoCarol McKay, Angela King, Susan Spicer, Kristin Batson, Stefani Twyford, Ron and Peggy
Weiss, Patricia Sharpe, Robb Walsh, Pam Blanton, Gretchen and Lance Lahourcade, and Jane
and Milton Howe (especially for our fi rst Terry Allen CD!).
Thanks to Fran Norman, Jana Norman, and Paul Turley for your warmth and enthusiastic
support of this project.
Thanks to my sweet Grandma Millie for love, great cooking, and fi lling my life with a steady
stream of cookies, brownies, and various other Scandinavian confections.
Much love and gratitude to my parents, Mike and Julie Disbrowe, for your love, support, and
endless efforts to make our lives smoother. Our adventure has been richer (and houses and
gardens neater!) because you shared it with us. Thanks, Mom, for being one of my offi cial rec-
ipe testers, and Dad, for being an offi cial taster. Thanks to my brothers, Tim and Tyler Disbrowe,
for always being proud of their big sister.
Last, but far from least, I thank my husband, David Norman. You have been there for me at
every step, from bringing me sandwiches while I was holed up writing my proposal to picking up
kitchen shifts and literally shoveling more shit so I could fi nish this book. No one’s feedback, or
palate, has mattered more. Thanks for having the guts to move to Texas. This story would not
be a story without you.
acknowledgments viii
Introduction
A Door Opens
Switching it over to AM
Searching for a truer sound
Can’t recall the call letters
Steel guitar and settle down
Catching an a ll-n ight station somewhere in Louisiana
It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven.
—Son Volt, “Windfall”