Cooking has always been a part of Ellise Pierce’s
life whether it was living back home in Denton, Texas or half a world away in
Paris, France. With a relationship under stress and her freelance writing
career tanked, she slowly found herself again by cooking. Gradually she built a
cooking career by teaching home cooking for other ex-pats living in Paris. This
and much more is explained in the introduction to Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with
a French Accent.
After the introduction it is on to “Cowgirl Chef
Kitchen Basic” where her equipment and ingredients are discussed. That leads
folks into” Cowgirl Speak: A Trail
Guide” that covers how to make adjustments for cooking times, sizes, etc.
The recipes start on page 22 with “Chapter One: Appetizers:
Old Favorites and New Beginnings.” Whether you want to make the Texas shaped
cookies “Texas Killers” (pages 26-27) “Mushroom Tapenade” (pages 42-43) or
“Cheesy Rosemary Olive Flatbread” (pages 48-51) among other dishes there is
something here that blends Texas cooking with French cooking. Each recipe has an introduction to it about
the background of the recipe, a serving suggestion, and a couple of tips
regarding ingredients, freezing options, or other helpful advice. Pictures
accompanying the recipe can be of the dish itself, ingredients, of Paris or
elsewhere in France providing local color to the recipe being discussed. This
same format continues throughout the book.
“Chapter 2:
Cowgirlified Frenchy” begins on page 56 where the author notes, among
interesting things, that jalapenos are not available in Paris. Over time she learned
not only how to adjust to that, but to blend French Cuisine into her cooking. That
gives rise to dishes such as “Cowgirl Quiche” (page 59-61), “Paris Chicken
Fricassee” (page 72-75) among others.
According to the author the French are crazy about
soups. They come next in “Chapter 3: Souped Up” starting on page 82. After some soup tips it is onto recipes such
as “Smokin’ Tortilla Soup” (page 86-89), “Broccoli-Basil Soup” (pages 95-97) or
“Skin & Bones Chicken Stock” (pages 111-112) among others.
Of course when one thinks of soup, salad cannot be
far behind. In “Chapter 4: Greens” the topic is salad in many varieties. “Les
Halles Spinach Salad” (pages 124-125), “Texas Pickup Salad” (pages 138-140)
among other choices are here. By the way, in this chapter you learn the
interesting fact that Paris grocery stores close at 8 pm during the week and at
1pm on Sunday. Puts our 24 hour seven
day a week grocery stores in real perspective.
If it is a Texas based cookbook it absolutely must
have tacos. Part of the state constitution. Tacos are here in “Chapter 5: Tacos,
Tarts, and Tartines” starting on page 152. You can put just about anything in a taco so give “Corona
Beer-Braised Brisket Tacos” on pages 154-156 a try as well as some of the other
taco suggestions. You can also try the “Tomato-Ricotta Tart” (pages 171-173),
the Tex-Mex Tart” (pages 174-176) or the “Adobo Salmon Salad Tartines” (pages
192-194) among others.
Farmer markets are very big in Paris and there are
over seventy of them in the area. That means there is a lot of produce to
consider and Ellise Pierce uses what is season to drive her meals. That is just part of the introduction to
“Chapter 6: Riding Side Saddle: Veggies” starting on page 198. Of course, there are Texas based dishes like
“Mom’s Black-Eyed Peas and Jalapeno Cornbread” (pages 208-210) as well as
“French Bistro Green Beans” (page 218-219) and “Roasted Ratatouille” (pages
230-231) among others.
Meat, fish and poultry finally get their turn in
“Chapter 7: From the Farm and Sea.” Starting on page 234 there are recipes for
items such as “Provencal Fish Stew” (pages 248-250), “Gascon-Style Pork Chops
with Pepper Honey” (pages 254-256) and “Easy Roast Chicken” (page 264-265)
among others. It was also interesting to learn in this chapter that the chicken
is the national mascot of France (page 264).
If you still have room for dessert that begins on
page 274 with “Chapter 8: Desserts.” Among other delectable treats here there are
recipes for “Grilled Oranges-Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberries” (pages
279-281), “Watermelon Granita “(page 290-291) and “Peach Croustade” (page
306-309)
“Chapter 9: Tex-Mex” starts on page 310 and is all
about home in Texas. The author may be living in Paris, France, but who she is
day to day is Texan. Here are the recipes that made up her first cooking class
such as “Wheat Tortillas” (pages 312-313), “Holy Guacamole” (page 318) among
others including “Texas Chili” (pages 320-321).
The cookbook concludes with a very brief epilogue, a
two page acknowledgment section, and a six page index. Unfortunately, there is
no nutritional information in the book for those of us who need to pay
attention to certain issues.
Despite the lack of nutritional information in the
book, overall, this is a very well done cookbook. In addition to the cooking
side of things, the over 300 pages cookbook also provides a lot of culture and
history information about Paris, France as well as the joys and sorrows of
American living abroad. Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French
Accent is more than a cookbook. It is also a cultural awareness guide
and inspirational regarding reinventing yourself and adapting to new situations
and experiences.
Cowgirl
Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent
Ellise
Pierce
Running
Press Books
May
2012
ISBN
#978-0-7624-4463-2
Hardback
(also available as e-book)
336
Pages
$25.00
Material
supplied by the good folks at the Plano, Texas Public Library System at
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2012
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