How to Win a Cowboys Heart Cookbook
Kathy Lynn Wills
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How to Win a Cowboys Heart Cookbook Digital Edition 1.0 Text 2015 Kathy Lynn Wills Photographs 2015 photographer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review. Gibbs Smith P.O. Box 667 Layton, Utah 84041 Orders: 1.800.835.4993 www.gibbs-smith.com ISBN: 978-1-4236-4133-9
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my friends who valiantly tasted and tried through scorched stews and soggy crusts to lead me onto better work. To the gang at La Portes favorite gathering spot, Woodstock Feed: Gene Michaud and the endless search for cinnamon and raisins, Charlie Gann who always has another idea (and another cup of coffee), Roger Clark for funny stories and faithful encouragement (Its the altitude, Kath.), and Nancy Feldman who packed boxes, carried groceries, smiled sweetly, and even carted critters to the vet. Im sorry to Linda BarkKarie with whom I was often too short on the phone and to, Im afraid, many other good friends I too often forgot to call.
Thanks also to Mary Rogers, Bill Jacobson (along with Kody and Tober), Rusty Alderson, and Vickie Mullen for making me laugh, and Susan Streaker for encouragement, jokes, and recipe ideas over the fax machine. Oh, these modern times. How far could I have gotten without Jay and Jill Pollitt, Lou Gile, Scott Beauchemin, Steve Kirklys, and Lisa, Ron, and Shane Rothe? They never doubted I could finish even when I wasnt sure. Faith is a powerful motivator. Heres to the girls for the eggs and to my faithful cowdog, Ezra, who sits close when things arent going well. Thanks to my father who in my childhood barbecued and basted, stir-fried and stewed so joyously it must have rubbed off on meand to Grandma Mary.
My somewhat hazy memories of her near legendary kitchen inspired many of the enclosed recipes...and, of course, a warm hug to my favorite family of eaters, John, Carole, Jessie, and Alexaits wonderful being your sister and aunt. Im grateful to the authors whose quotes brighten these pages, to the editors and staff of Gibbs Smith, Publishing, especially Madge, Dawn, and the Susans, and to my mom, who read these words over and over again... each time as if they were new. A toast to you, my friends.
Ring the Dinner Bell
A man can stay with a rough outfit a long time, says lifetime cowboy Roger Clark, if there are good horses and good food. Though some cowhands lament they were born a hundred years too late, for most women, our modern liberation, along with a host of time-saving appliances, brought welcome relief from seemingly endless household chores.
I stir up cakes and create new recipes not because it is traditional womens work (in fact, many of the great western cooks from ranch wagons to fifty-acre homesteads were and are men), but because I enjoy it. If you are a better horseshoer than pot wrassler, by all means take up hammer and nails. If you, like I am, are better at building biscuits than fences, perhaps youll find a hungry cowboy, mechanic, accountant, or plumber ready to share your table. More than a primer on authentic cowboy style, this book is about sharing the comfort of good company over a wonderful meal. In the same way that a buckaroo tackles his job holding firmly to tradition and tools of the past, these simple meals flavored by our history and legends are tasty forget-me-nots from a young nations love affair with open air, country, cattle, and freedom. New York Citys culinary chefs may frown on the idea, but western cooks routinely use canned and dried ingredients.
Ours is a cuisine born of distance and availabilitymostly the distance between wagon or ranch and grocery store and the few items offered for sale. Though, today few of us live a days ride from the nearest market, the tradition of simple ingredients well blended into wholesome foods lives on. Ive heard it said there are many ways to a cowboys heart: fast horses, silver mounted spurs, or fancy tall-top boots. I cant guarantee these recipes will ensure a lasting love or even a passing fancy, but the quickest and perhaps easiest route is still the perennial favorite, a home-cooked meal. Come and get it!
Good Morning, Dear
Starting Off Right
Breakfast in A Canyon, Colorado Diner
A counter-style starter for 6 The love remembered as most sweet is the one we never again will meet.