Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holiday Cookbook Review

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Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is such a food blogger inspiration to me, so I was thrilled to be given the chance to review her new cookbook, Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays.

There were some delicious-sounding options (the entire book reads like a homey American restaurant menu), but in the end I settled on Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Toasted Ravioli – I wanted some fun appetizers that I could enjoy on the patio with friends.

cookbook review

The Spinach and Artichoke Dip was super easy to make — I actually roped my friend into making it. (There’s no such thing as a free appetizer.) She was a bit nervous in the kitchen, but the dip turned out flavourful and cheesy without being too greasy (despite what the picture above might suggest). When making most milk-based sauces, there is usually a bit of skill involved in not “breaking” the sauce and causing it to become separated and goopy, but this recipe was easy for a self-professed novice to execute perfectly.

We substituted swiss chard for the spinach, and I found that the recipe called for a decent amount of artichokes and “spinach,” which helped us both feel less guilty for indulging in a cheesy dip for supper. The contrast between the cheesy dip and my spicy pita chips was perfect, but Ree also has a recipe for salted pita chips in the book that would likely work well.

toasted ravioli (1)

The Toasted Ravioli was a first for me, apparently it’s big in some Italian restaurants and in New Orleans, but I had never heard of it. The recipe is supposed to be deep-fried, but I preferred to “toast” it in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. We were still really happy with the final product: cripsy, breaded ravioli surrounding a warm and soft cheesy filling. If I make it again, I’ll likely pre-make my own ravioli with a melty cheese filling — the store-bought ravioli that the recipe calls for was nice, but I think a pizza mozzarella would kick these up a notch.

I served the ravioli with jarred marinara sauce, but if you’re in the mood to make it from scratch, I love the marinara recipe in Gwyneth Paltrow’s My Father’s Daughter and it has become my go-to.

toasted ravioli

As a cookbook, I think what Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (and any of Ree’s books) offers is step-by-step instructions for making classic “American-style” dishes that are nostalgic but updated with modern flavour profiles. I love how visual her cookbook is, as sometimes it’s hard to really understand a technique or step without seeing it, and it’s really inconvenient to try to search Youtube for a step in the middle of cooking! I also appreciated how almost everything I needed for the recipes were standard ingredients that I already had in my kitchen (for the most part), or could use in different recipes.

If you want fail-proof recipes for standard American classics, this is the book for you. Personally, this isn’t how Ella and I normally eat, but I would definitely turn to this book for holiday entertaining or party crowd-pleasers.

For more delicious party food, check out our pizza sliders recipe or our parmesan shrimp and steak recipe.

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8 Comments

  1. I had never heard of toasted or fried ravioli until our son was visiting back in April and we went to the Olive Garden, they serve it, it was delicious and the cheese was melted and nice and stringy 🙂 like cheese sticks. Love it.
    Not all Americans eat this way. We do for special occasions but I try to cook clean healthy meals.

    1. I’m sorry if by referring to it as “standard American classics” you felt like I was suggesting all Americans eat this way all of the time; it might look worse because I did the apps, but even cobbler — I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a non-American who has even tried one (outside of an American restaurant). I definitely didn’t mean to suggest that they are everyday American foods, more just that these are culturally (classicly) American.
      I think of it like poutine or beaver tails for Canadians; we maybe have it once a year, if that, but it’s a Canadian classic and really not associated with any other nation/culture.

  2. My mom used to make fried ravioli as a special treat, but I have a fear of frying. I like your idea to pan fry them with a little olive oil better.

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