The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s Favorite Cookbooks Include Classics and Basics
Back in 2006, before lifestyle bloggers were even a thing, Ree Drummond started a blog to share about her life and love of cooking. It soon snowballed, and today that simple beginning has spawned an empire.
Drummond is now a celebrity TV host, best-selling author, the owner of a store and restaurant, and developer of a line of cookware. But through all these changes, she’s kept her focus on good, simple, beautiful food. And the cookbooks she’s collected and loved for years reflect that passion.
It all started on the ranch
Considering that it was her food that made her famous, it’s surprising to learn that Drummond’s blog, The Pioneer Woman, had been around for a year before she posted her first recipe. According to Moms, that first food post consisted of step-by-step instructions about how to cook a steak, and her readers loved it.
Drummond’s cooking style is simple and hearty, and she made her readers feel like they could whip up delicious meals too. Her recipes were accompanied by gorgeous pictures she took of her family, their ranch, and of course, the food. Within a few years, she had millions of readers and hundreds of easy comfort food recipes.
Her fame landed her a spot on the Food Network in 2011. Along with all the other opportunities that have opened up for her since she started writing her blog, she has also published 21 books.
She’s written several cookbooks
Of the 21 books Drummond has written, the majority of them aren’t actually cookbooks. In fact, she’s written 13 books for kids, most of them featuring her beloved beagle, Charlie the Ranch Dog.
But of course, cooking is one of her great loves, and so it’s not surprising that she’s written six cookbooks. Her first came out in 2009, called The Pioneer Woman Cooks. It was full of her classic, casual style food, and chatty personality. It hit the top position on the New York Times Bestseller list, even though Drummond didn’t think she was ready to write it.
“I had no idea what I was doing when I wrote that sucker, and I didn’t care,” she explained. “I embraced it and ran with it and I’ll always be so glad I did.”
She went on to produce five more cookbooks, offering even more down-home cooking, holiday recipes, dinner suggestions, quick meals, and her latest book, which includes recipes for the Instant Pot, as well as low-carb ideas.
Drummond’s books have inspired a generation of cooks. But who does she turn to for inspiration?
Ree Drummond’s favorite cookbooks to turn to
Drummond has been drawn to cooking since she was a child, and her kitchen library reflects her long-lasting love of the classic cooking arts.
She hands onto a vintage cookbook from the ’50s, Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook. She also treasures the fundamentals that are covered in The New Basics Cookbook. She keeps a special space on her shelf for Joy the Baker Cookbook, by Joy Wilson, a friend from her early blogging days.
She also appreciates the elegant recipes found in Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten, and The New Portuguese Table by David Leite. How to Cook Without the Book, an innovative guide to the basics of cooking by Pam Anderson, is another favorite.
Drummond’s cookbook collection is an eclectic bunch, but it’s not hard to see her delicious, straightforward approach to food and love of flavors reflected there. As she continues to create new recipes all the time, she clearly has a solid foundation to build on. After all, she really loves food, and her cookbook collection is a celebration of it.
