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

Disenchanted by her hectic New York City lifestyle, Disbrowe, a former \t\t travel writer, packed her bags and moved to Texas Hill Country to become the \t\t chef at Hart & Hind Ranch. The dishes she created there combine her love \t\t for Mediterranean food with fresh local ingredients and cooking traditions from \t\t south-central Texas, with recipes such as Texas Tofu Scramble, and Eggs over \t\t Polenta with Serrano-Spiked Tomato Sauce. Also included in the Ranch Breakfast \t\t section are more traditional recipes like Blackberry Blue Corn Muffins and \t\t Banana Bread. Other sections included are "Charming Sandwiches and a \t\t Belt-Busting Burger," which feature Smoked Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Cream, \t\t and a Venison Burger. In the chapter "Ring the Dinner Bell" are fun, and simple \t\t dishes like Halibut with Salsa Verde and Cowgirl Steaks with Pink Peppercorns \t\t and Red Onion Marmalade. Throughout, Disbrowe shares various tales from life on \t\t the ranch (from raising baby chicks to living with a pet goat). Disbrowe's \t\t goal, she explains in her intro, was to write a cookbook "about fresh, \t\t satisfying food that is easy enough to prepare while living life to the \t\t fullest." In this she has succeeded. (Mar.)