Five Marys Ranch Raised by Mary Heffernan

Five Marys Ranch Raised

by Mary Heffernan

Featuring 75 family-friendly recipes straight from the ranch, this is a “beautiful, candid, heartfelt window into the life, kitchen, and home of [a] wildly successful rancher and businesswoman” (Erin Benzakein, New York Times–bestselling author of Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers).

Explore home and family on the ranch with Mary Heffernan—rancher, entrepreneur, restaurateur, wife and mother. Together with her husband, Brian, they own Five Marys Farms and are raising their four daughters—all named Mary—while pasture-raising cattle, pigs, and heritage lambs. Their work ethic is as strong as their commitment to family, and Mary believes in nourishing meals shared together—in their cozy cabin in winter and around the outdoor camp kitchen in summer.
 
In these 75 satisfying, homespun recipes you’ll find something for every meal and mood, including Mary’s favorite beef, pork, and lamb dishes, as well as the secret to her famous sidecars! Some of the stand-outs include:
 
• Homemade English Muffins
• Loaded Carne Asada Nachos
• Wood-Fired Porterhouse Steak with Mushroom- Shallot Sauce
• Chili-Rubbed Pork Chops with Charred-Corn Salsa
• Grilled Lamb Sliders with Tomato Chutney and Havarti
• Crispy Brussels Sprout Salad with Citrus-Maple Vinaigrette
• Cast-Iron Hasselback Potatoes
• Mary’s Lemon-Bourbon Sidecars
• Sweet Drop Biscuits with Grilled Peaches and Cream
 
Evocative photos capture the breathtaking beauty of the ranch, the carefree joy of the girls with their horses, the majestic Great Pyrenees who roam the land, and so much more. Get ready to fall in love with ranch life, hearty recipes, and the Five Marys.
 
“A book that makes you want to leave the city and move to a ranch to have this kind of life yourself.”
—Tiffani Thiessen, actress, producer, TV host and author

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 August, 2020: Finished reading
  • 4 August, 2020: Reviewed