Reata Restaurant chef Grady Spears has taken his talent for down-home cowboy cuisine and given it a decidedly up town twist. This gorgeous volume brings you one of America's most iconic cuisines- that of the Texas ranch. It's filled to the brim with strong, flavorful recipes; fascinating ranch memorabilia; gorgeous full-color photography; and truly marvelous, utterly real food. Not just your basic beans and biscuits, A Cowboy in the Kitchen serves up recipes like:

• Oven-Roasted Tenderloin of Pork with Apple Poblano Chutney
• Biscuit Pudding with Southern Comfort Cream
• Char-Grilled Texas T-Bone with Caciotta Cheeses Enchiladas

"Reata" means rope in Spanish, but in Texan mythology the name means a lot more. Reata was the name of the ranch in Giant, a book by Edna Ferber that was made into a movie in 1956. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean and won nine Academy Awards. Today, celebrities like Tommy Lee Jones, Martha Stewart, Nolan Ryan and many, many more consistently patronize the Reata restaurants in Alpine and Fort Worth, Texas. Heralded widely in publications like Gourmet, P.O.V, Martha Stewart Living, Chile Pepper Magazine, The New York Times, Cowboys & Indians, and Texas Monthly, Grady has truly become, as reviewers attest, "a rising star in the Lone Star State."

In a world of electronic communication and information super-highways, Texans have never lost sight of the cowboy culture. Its influence reaches every facet of Texan life the way they eat, the way they dress, even the way they think and act. A Cowboy in the Kitchen is a rousing and delicious testament to this way of life. From innovative Tex-Mex flavors to perfectly prepared steaks to sinfully rich desserts, this is a book for the cowboy in all of us.

Robb Walsh is the restaurant critic of the Houston Press, and a commentator for National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, Sunday. He has also served as the food editor of the Austin Chronicle, food columnist for Natural History magazine, and editor-in-chief of Chile Pepper magazine. Walsh articles appear in several anthologies including Best Food Writing 2001, and Cornbread Nation I: The Best of Southern Food Writing.

Grady Spears worked as a cowhand and cattle broker before becoming ExecutiveChef and Co-owner of the Reata Restaurants in Alpine and Forth Worth, Texas. Spears was named one of the Top 5 New Chefs of 1998, by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine. He is now the chef/owner of the Nutt House Restaurant in Granbury, Texas.

Recipes from Reata and Texas West of the Pecos
by Grady Spears and Robb Walsh
Ten Speed Press
Cloth, $29.95
224 pages, full color
Publication Date: February 1999
ISBN: 1-58008-004-9

Selected one of the "Top Ten Cookbooks of 1999" by Peter Franklin's nationally syndicated column, "Cookbook Nook."