THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS

Bestselling cookbook author Drummond (The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels—A Love Story, 2011, etc.) returns with another compilation of mouthwatering recipes.

The recipes are designed to “win friends, influence people, garner marriage proposals, foster friendships, mend fences, and make you the most popular person in town”—or to fill the comfort-food needs of the non–weight-watching crowd. The average cook will have no trouble duplicating these easy-to-follow recipes. Drummond’s step-by-step instructions are illustrated with photographs at each stage in the recipe, leading readers from beginning to end. Covering all types of meals from breakfast, lunch and supper to party foods, beverages and desserts, many recipes are similar to what our mothers might have cooked before recipes became more health and calorie conscious. Familiar dishes such as ranch-style chicken, grilled cheese sandwiches and fancy macaroni and cheese will appeal to the reader’s desire to cook hearty foods with a modicum of expertise, time and money being spent in the process. Drummond makes exotic-sounding dishes such as “Italian Meatball Soup,” “Caprese Salad” and “Honey-Plum-Soy Chicken” as simple as frying an egg for breakfast. Interspersed with the recipes are more photographs of the author’s life on her ranch. Some readers may delight in Drummond’s down-home way of speaking directly to the reader, while others may find the interaction a bit snarky and annoying.

A collection of basic recipes to guarantee a full belly and an empty plate.