A Taste of Cowboy

April 6, 2015
Rollins has been cooking for cowboys for more than 20 years in all types of weather as a camp cook. His tool of choice is an 1876 Studebaker chuck wagon, and though his cooking options may be limited, his creativity isn’t, as demonstrated by the book’s many wonderful, field-friendly recipes. Rollins, never daunted by the prospect of preparing three square meals a day for hungry cowboys in the middle of a prairie with no electricity, manages to make sloppy joes with smoky macaroni and cheese, and bread pudding with whiskey cream sauce; he also includes the recipe for chicken-fried steak that beat out star chef Bobby Flay in his Throwdown. Though Rollins offers sage advice on choosing and caring for cast-iron cookware, readers won’t need to worry about building a fire, since these recipes have been adjusted to allow followers to recreate cowboy fare in the comfort of their own kitchens. However, Rollins remains true to his methods by incorporating a wide variety of boxed, canned, and prepared ingredients such as creamed soups and processed cheese. Rollins’s campfire stories and DIY cures for ailments such as arthritis (honey in your coffee) and spider bites (tape a penny on it) give warmth and personality to a book that even city slickers will enjoy spending time with.

April 15, 2015

Caterer Rollins travels the country to feed hungry customers from his mobile kitchen, a restored and horse-drawn 1876 Studebaker wagon. His debut (cowritten with his wife, Shannon) won't teach readers to be wagon cooks, or even to cook outside, but it will offer them the opportunity to create rib-sticking cowboy fare at home. Recipes such as wagon-wheel steak, pickled okra and jalapeno cheese dip, and gooey marshmallow chocolate cake call for many canned and packaged ingredients, which will please readers who have limited access to fresh produce or frequently cook from their pantry or freezer. Affably, Rollins relays colorful stories from ranches, rodeos, and rough country, and orients readers to cowboy lingo and cast-iron care. VERDICT If you're looking for easy, down-home dishes to satisfy a hungry family or your inner cowboy, this may be the cookbook for you.

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