Title:	Five Marys Ranch Raised Cookbook: Homegrown Recipes from Our Family to Yours
	Author:	Mary Heffernan
	Published:	September 20, 2020, Sasquatch Books
	No. of Pages:	288
	Cover Price:	$29.95 Hardcover, $14.99 Kindle

---

Five Marys Ranch Raised Cookbook: Homegrown Recipes from Our Family to Yours by Mary Heffernan is one of the best all-around cookbooks out there. Not only are there great recipes, but there are also beautiful photographs of the dishes and of family life on a ranch. The recipes included are for dishes that almost everyone will actually want to cook, and some turn out so good, that they will land on family’s go-to lists. The recipes are actually so tempting, it will be difficult to find something anyone won’t want to make. Mary and her four daughters (all named Mary), use cast iron for cooking, and there is a section on how to care for it.

This book includes all the elements that make for an excellent cookbook: stories and vignettes, beautiful photographs - not only of just the recipes, but also the ranch and the author and family to make the stories more interesting, well-written, succinct recipe instructions that anyone – beginners and experienced cooks – can make picture-perfect dishes, an excellent index and table of contents, and most-importantly, recipes that are down-to-earth and mouthwatering. This cookbook has recipes that appeal to adults and children. There are a few casseroles (The Cast Iron Tamale Pie is fabulous), salads including a Crispy Brussels, Sprouts Salad, innovative vegetables and side dishes, and beef, pork, and lamb recipes. There are also desserts. It’s interesting that there are no recipes in this cookbook for chicken or seafood. Most cookbooks have too many recipes for chicken, so no one will miss them since the beef, pork, and lamb recipes are so good.

Carnivores will love this cookbook for the excellent meat recipes; vegetarians will find several good vegetable, salad, and side dishes, and everyone will love the desserts. Highly recommended. This cookbook has enough good things to keep most of us cooking new recipes for weeks.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.