Tasty Tuesday: PW Cooks and a Giveaway

CONTEST HAS ENDED!  WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SATURDAY (11/14) MORNING!

Thanks to everyone who commented and shared what you are thankful for.  It was truly a blessing to read them all!

Well, it's been a while since I've done a Tasty Tuesday...oh how I have missed you.  What better to place to gather and bond over luscious culinary creations?  Miss Jen has created the perfect haven for such a thing and I can't wait to see what everyone has come up with this week.  I'm sure Thanksgiving menus are in for a tweaking after today!  So if you like the sounds of it, hop on over to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam to feast on the mother load of recipes!  Welcome to Tasty Tuesday!

However, having said all that, there will be no recipe here today.

Sorry.

Instead I want to go into some detail about what arrived on my doorstep yesterday afternoon.  I had been anxiously awaiting it's arrival, but because I was cheap and chose free standard shipping, it took several days too many to arrive in my opinion.  My heart did somersaults when I saw it on our stoop and I immediately unloaded the baby and briefcase, threw the chicken in the oven and then ripped into the box.

There it sat in all it's colorful wonder.  A gem of all gems.  A staple in any girl's collection of cookbooks.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl
by Ree Drummond

And if you don't know who Ree Drummond is: 1) where have you been living? & 2) stop reading this blog right now and head on over to The Pioneer Woman this second!

I have been reading PW's blog for some time now, so it was never a doubt in my mind that I would own her cookbook.  Seeing as I have already attempted  several of the recipes from her site I was ready for more.  Yet, I wondered how she could take the charm of her site and put it into a book that not only captured the readers attention, but kept it.  Now before you all start booing from that last comment....what I mean is, I've read about Ree and her life on the ranch for a long time.  I felt certain, cookbook or no, I had read all there is to know about this woman, her family and her cooking.  But such was not the case.

PW really delivered in this fun collection of not only mouthwatering creations, but also in the colors, the pictures, and the overall layout of the book.  It was captivating.

I have to admit...I do all my reading in the tub.  This was the first time I took a cookbook to the bath with me.  But really, when you're not examining the extremely detailed picture tutorials accompanying the recipes, you're reading little tid bits here and there, anecdotes and family stories sprinkled all throughout the pages.

Some things I had read before, but even those few stories or recipes I had found on her website once before, were retold and shared with a new spunk in Drummond's book.  This was her baby for the longest time and though I don't know what it takes to produce a book of any kind, I can only imagine it was a labor of love for her.  So new life was breathed into even the familiar things.  Her passion for this project was obvious as I flipped from page to page.

Consider this a picture book.  All photos are from Drummon's own camera (she's a brilliant photographer as well) and though you'll find shots of Charlie and a few Herefords here and there, the real spice of life is the detail Drummond put into literally teaching us to cook this cowboy food.  It almost feels like she's in the kitchen with you...almost.  PW took what she has done on her blog with the step by step pictorial instructions, thrown in some new recipes along with even some funny wine sipping shots and created the cookbook women have been dreaming of since the Betty Crocker Cookbook Binder.  Let's face it girls, it just makes things easier if we have pictures to refer to and there is no shortage of that in this book.  

An by the way, an hour long bath allowed me to go from cover to cover several times, dog-earring pages along the way, re-reading and laughing hysterically.

Ree Drummond is no doubt a Renaissance Woman what will all she manages to accomplish and I hold her in the highest regard, as I'm sure most blogger/fans do.  I don't know her, but I feel like her cookbook is the perfect expression of her personality and were I ever to meet her, I'd feel like we were old friends.  That's pretty special when you as an author have captured the essence of that relationship for your readers.  And though she's been building this relationship for years on her blog, the cookbook, opens up a whole different side of her character.

Bravo, Ree!

If you haven't gotten The Pioneer Woman Cooks, I highly encourage you to do so.  Seriously, why are you still reading!?!  =)

I, of course, recommend it to any and everyone so that more people can enjoy the beauty, wit and sheer genius that is this book and it's author.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks is available at most major book retailers and also on Amazon.

Now....

With that, I'd like to host a giveaway.  And though I'm not giving away a copy of PW Cooks (hey, get your own) I am giving away something that will make the perfect companion.

In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday I'm giving away one of my handmade aprons.  This one in particular will be just the ticket in cooking to your heart's content over Thanksgiving and everyday as well.

Retailed at $22, all of my aprons feature an attached towel and side pocket for your convenience.  You can find even more in My Etsy Shop or the link on my right sidebar.

TO ENTER: Just tell me in a comment, "What are you Thankful for?"

I'm thankful for God's grace and love most importantly.  I'm thankful for my family and all the many blessings, big and small, that we experience day in and day out.  I'm thankful for PW's cookbook!  I'm thankful for this blog and how it allows me to share freely.  And last but certainly not least, I'm thankful for all my readers be it many or few~ Thank you all for your love and support.

I'll be accepting entries until Friday @ 9:00 pm EST, then a winner will be picked at random and announced on Saturday morning.  Good luck and I look forward to hearing what you're thankful for.

Again, for more on Tasty Tuesday, head over to Jen's and pitch in!!  See you there!

Be blessed friends, be blessed.

 

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