cowgirl in the kitchen

Rack of lamb is served rare.  But rare doesn’t mean raw; the trick is to leave the meat to rest after roasting so that the juices in the center have time to flow back toward the skin, making the lamb an even pink color throughout. HINT: Get fresh packaged New Zealand rack of lamb in...

An exuberant response from guests when you tell them that the main course is a hamburger and fries is usually not what you would expect for the all-American comfort dish. But if they’ve ever had a classic smash burger made with all its traditional ingredients, the mood can quickly change. Although it takes a little more...

Recipe and photo by Susan L. Ebert I’m all for catfish … just decidedly against frying ’em in the house.  For fish frys, my go-to set-up is a propane-fired outdoor stove with a 50,000-BTU burner topped with a 10-quart fry pot with a basket liner.  You’ll also want to have fireproof gloves, safety glasses or...

Any cowgirl worth her salt—whether on a horse-camping, hiking, or paddling trip or just an overnight campout—can whip up a hearty backcountry paella by packing in lightweight dry ingredients, harvesting available saltwater or freshwater proteins, and foraging for greens such as watercress and wild onion.  Shown here is a paella featuring crawfish and bream; you...

Recipe and photo by Susan L. Ebert Adapted from a recipe by Kentuckian Stella Parks, 2018 James Beard Award winner for her cookbook BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, this triple-layer, ginger buttercream-frosted cake features winter pears, such as the ones that grew on the ancient, gnarled trees on my Mamaw and Papaw’s Bluegrass farm near Lexington,...

Ahhh … those perfect days of late August and early September, when it’s clear, sunny, not unbearably hot, and the faintest whiff of fall hangs in the air.  Don’t you wish you could put that in a jar to enjoy all year long? Well, by canning this salsa, you can. Marrying the season’s two standout superstars:...

Recipe and photo by Susan L. Ebert More than 2,000 years ago, the Roman army made its way through Spain’s Iberian Peninsula, planting vineyards along the way.  As much of the water sources were bacteria-laden, it was common practice to add in some alcohol (such as wine) to disinfect it and toss in any available...

Santa Maria-style tri tip dates back to the mid-1800s, when the Spanish ranchers of the Santa Maria Valley celebrated spring roundup with barbecued tri tip for family, friends, and the local vaqueros.  Cut from the triangular lower tip of the bottom sirloin, the popularity of this delicious-yet-cheaper sirloin cut has endured, spreading beyond California—and beyond...