Five Marys Ranch Raised

by Mary Heffernan

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Five Marys Ranch Raised Cookbook is a wonderful new cookbook and style guide by Mary Heffernan. Due out 8th Sept 2020 from Sasquatch Books, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is such a lovely book, written with warmth and generousity, full of well developed recipes with a quintessentially American farmland flavor and hospitality that it's impossible not to like it. The book is lavishly illustrated, showing the Heffernan family, pets, lifestyle, stock, and surroundings in gorgeous detail.

The book is laid out logically and accessibly. An introduction/bio for the Heffernan's journey from being yuppies (he ran his own law firm, she was an entrepreneur) to ranchers was interesting and provided some salient philosophical takeaways. The recipes are arranged roughly thematically: breakfasts, appetizers/small bites, beef, pork, lamb, sides, beverages, and desserts.

Ingredient measurements are supplied in American measurements only. There is an included conversion chart for metric measures in the back of the book. Descriptions are contained in the header for each recipe. The nutritional information is not included. Extra tips or recipe alternatives are listed in headers with the recipe descriptions. The recipes themselves are beautifully finished with lots of nice unexpected juxtapositions of flavor and texture (citrus and crisp fried Brussels sprouts, lamb loin served with a green olive and orange relish - amazing and delicious). The recipes are (obviously) meat heavy, it's a ranch cookbook. There are a fair number of meat-free recipes however, and the overall quality of the writing and neat and hearty fusion style of the foods will allow vegetarians a surprising amount of use for the recipes in the book - notably all of the sauces, condiments, dressings, marinades, and other flavor enhancers (and there are a pile of them) can be adapted to meat-free uses.

The production values are top notch, and yes, the book shows a jealousy inducing "instagram perfect" family (as I look around at my messy kitchen countertops and wash my 3rd load of laundry for the day), however, it's honestly written with such warmth and candor that I found myself admiring them reaching for (and apparently working together to achieve) their dreams and raise their lovely family in a gorgeous rural setting. The photography is abundant and gorgeous and adds a lot to the recipes. Serving suggestions are beautifully presented and appropriate.

Five stars. I'll be buying my own copy.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.