Books We Love: Urban Cowgirl

Eating is a necessity but cooking is an art.  Professional chef and author Sarah Penrod proves her culinary artistry in her new book Urban Cowgirl:  Decadently Southern, Outrageously Texan, Food, Family Traditions, and Style for Modern Life. The interesting and appealing recipes featured range from goat cheese chile rellenos to buttermilk pie brulee and each delectable dish includes tips and techniques for preparing the food that will make even the most novice cook seem like an expert chef. 

The savory spirit behind Penrod’s Urban Cowgirl is summed up in one phrase; country flavor with big-city style.  Her recipes were created to stir a sense of kitchen adventure.  Consider the wild combinations of flavor in the Texas farmer’s salad with blackberry lavender vinaigrette, seared steaks with sweet onion marmalade, and southwestern cream corn lobster topping.  There’s also a chapter describing how to make a variety of beverages from Mexican chocolate latte to coconut green tea Kombucha.  Every recipe is more adventurous than the next.

Urban Cowgirl isn’t limited to tantalizing treats, but includes a section on how to make bath soaps, lip balm, and sugar scrubs.  Penrod promises that all the creations will smell delicious and that your skin will devour them.

The vibrantly colored images throughout the book add to the style and sophistication of the volume; stories about the author’s background and inspiration for each recipe make the creation that much more appealing.

Sarah Penrod’s enthusiasm for cooking is infectious.  Whether she’s sharing the proper way to prepare for a ladies’ southern tea or explaining the must-have ingredients needed for taco therapy, she proves that cooking is love made visible.

Urban Cowgirl is a mouthwatering marvel. 

Reviewed by Chris Enss, COWGIRL Book Editor, and a New York Times Best-selling author who writes about women of the Old West.