Cookbook review

I first became aware of Cowgirl Chef (aka Ellise Pierce) when I put the words 'green chile' in a well known search engine one night.  One of the first links was to her fabulous blog.  When I saw what kind of cuisine she specialized in and I saw the photos of her food, I instantly developed a culinary and blog crush on her.  Later when I saw her picture I developed a schoolboy crush on her.

I continued on for months reading her blog and from time to time I'd comment.  When I saw she was on Facebook, I friended her, and lo, and behold, she friended me back.  I was ecstatic.  Here I was now friends, at least in cyber space anyway, with a super cute well known food writer and chef.

When I started putting some of my art on Facebook, she bought two mixed media pieces right away, which made me love her all the more.  So when I read that her cookbook was coming out, I knew I had to get a copy as soon as I possibly could.  And that's just what I did a few days ago. 

I was super excited to get my very own copy and when it came via UPS, I tore the package open and began looking through it, I imagined all the recipes of hers that I was (am) going to make.  I fell in love with her easy writing style and the beautiful photos of her food.  It's a beautifully done book and it's full of beautiful photos of food and of the swoon worthy Ms. Pierce.

The recipes look easy to follow, and the one I made the other night was super easy to follow:

I made her Paris Chicken Fricassee recipe for supper the other night, although I didn't use a habanero, which is optional anyway, because sometimes I find them to be too oppressive.  Over all though, this dish is a home run.  It's got chicken, chorizo, fresh rosemary, tomatoes (I used half a quart of my home canned tomatoes), onions, garlic, salt, and pepper in it, so what's not to love?   I nearly made her cheesy rosemary olive flatbread to go along with it but I was out of cheddar and olives and I didn't want to go to the store.

Unlike a lot of cookbooks, this one is not intimidating.  There's not a shit ton of ingredients for each recipe and the steps to making these dishes are very easy to follow.  But best of all the food is packed with the flavors I love.  And you make most all of this food with fresh ingredients.

All in all this cookbook is a winner.  I look forward to making more of Ellise's recipes and sharing them with local friends and with you via this blog.  I recommend this cookbook highly, and I'd say that even if I didn't have a massive crush on the author.

Go, buy your copy today and support a great gal who makes great food.