You'll be talking with a Texas twang and feeling the same energy and zeal for food as a true Texan when you open The Texas Cowboy Kitchen. As Nolan Ryan states in the introduction, "Grady's a true Texas cowboy who knows the importance of making the best grub in Texas." And this grub, though based on true Texas, has been updated, even sometimes sophisticated by the exuberant Spears without losing its cowboy appeal.
The Texas Cowboy Kitchen is a celebration of cowboy Texas as well as of its unique food. The book is packed with historical photos taken by Erwin E. Smith, renowned for his ability to capture the essence of cowboy existence in all its toughness and hard work. Through essays and through sidebars that dot the recipe pages, the history of Texas cowboy life comes alive. We learn of the Chisholm Trail, subject of old dime novels, classic movies such as Red River, and the TV series and book from which it was adapted, Lonesome Dove. The life of the cowpoke lives through the pages of the book.
Much of the legendary life of Texas is reflected in its food. The recipes run the gamut in 10 chapters ranging from "Things You Don't Rope" to "Campfire Cocktails." These chapters include appetizers, soups and starters, breads, main courses, desserts, even those "Campfire Cocktails" for a tired cowpoke deserves a nightcap. You'll find recipes Spears Dr Pepper-Marinated Skirt Steak Tostadas, an assortment of tamales, Spoonbread with Simple Chorizo, Snapper with Ancho-Tomatillo Sauce,Porterhouse Pork Chops with Piloncillo Rub, Catfish Cakes with Chipotle Remoulade, Blue Ribbon Cornbread, Buttermilk Pie, and those after-a-hard-day drinks such as Kentucky Club Margarita, Stonewall Slush, or Brazos River Rambler.
There is a glossary describing all the goodies that go into the Texas Cowboy Kitchen, as well as sources for finding both ingredients and more information on the Chisholm Trail and cowboy heritage.
The Texas Cowboy Kitchen contains 100 original recipes perfected at Spears's renowned former restaurants, the Chisholm Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Nutt House Restaurant in Granbury, Texas—both of which satisfied wagon loads of hungry customers, not many of whom were cowpokes, but all of whom were looking for extra-special 'grub.'
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