NASHVILLE, Tennessee — When she was a teenager, Miranda Lambert listened at the dinner table while her grandmother, her mother and their friends swapped gossip, life lessons and stories from East Texas.
Those overheard conversations over plates of enchiladas and banana pudding became inspiration for Lambert’s Grammy-winning musical career, teaching her the art of storytelling and entertaining at the same time.
“Some of my first songs were written about some of the stories that they were going through,” Lambert said. “I hadn’t lived it myself yet, but I really absorbed that.”
After nearly two decades in country music and at the height of her career as one of the most award-winning country artists, Lambert is dishing on those recipes — and the stories behind them — from her family and friends in a book called “Y’All Eat Yet? Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin’ Kitchen.”
“It’s really important to surround yourself with people who celebrate the good times and who hold you up through the bad times,” said “The House That Built Me” singer. “That’s what this whole book is about.”
The book, out now on HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books, is equal parts Lambert’s family memoir, a guide to Texas-style entertaining and a church potluck cookbook.
Get to know Lambert’s grandma “Nonny” and her mom “Bev” and all their colorful female friends through the recipes they’ve swapped and shared: the famous meatloaf (see recipe below) that often leads to wedding bells, the whiskey cupcakes and the potini bar (mashed potatoes in a martini glass with all the toppings.) She also teaches the tricks to glamping in her Airstream travel trailer and tubing down the Guadalupe River and her dad offers a primer on seasoning a cast iron pan to perfection.
“Life on the road is tough, and so it makes it that much more special when you get to have a home-cooked meal,” Lambert said. “It’s such a triggering memory. It’s like a perfume or a song.”
Lambert has a lot to celebrate right now as she heads into the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11 as the reigning entertainer of the year. She’s already the most awarded artist in ACM history and she’s up for the top prize again, as well as breaking another record with her 17th female artist of the year nomination.
“I didn’t really get celebrate with everybody when I won last year, so this will be like, ‘Yay, hurrah! Who’s going to get it next?’” Lambert said of the awards show, which will be held in Frisco, Texas, this year. “I’m really excited that it’s in Texas and I’m just continually thankful for this community and the country music family that has lifted me up all these years and still votes for my records and recognizes my work.”
She’s also now a highly sought-after free agent after leaving her longtime label home Sony Music Nashville this spring. She was just 19 when she signed with the record label and debuted her first Sony record “Kerosene” in 2005.
“It’s a very different landscape from when I started,” Lambert said but noted that she’s already got some collaborations in the works.
“It feels really good to be free and just sort of take a step back and a deep breath and let the creativity lead the decisions,” Lambert said of her future musical plans.
Bev’s Famous Meatloaf
Yield: Serves 6 to 8 people
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork sausage
- 18 saltine crackers, crushed
- 1⁄2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1⁄2 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1⁄2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1⁄2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
2. Add the ground beef, sausage, crackers, bell pepper, onion, eggs, Worcester- shire, mustard and 1⁄4 cup of the brown sugar to a medium bowl. Mix with your hands until blended. Shape the mixture into a 10 x 5-inch loaf and place in the baking dish.
3. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven; drain the juices into a separate bowl and reserve for the gravy.
4. In a bowl, stir together the ketchup and the remaining 1⁄4 cup brown sugar for the glaze. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons of the glaze for the gravy. Spread the rest over the meatloaf. Bake for 15 minutes more, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 160°F.
5. Pour the drained meat juices into a saucepan and heat until hot. Add the flour and stir until thickened. Mix 1 1⁄2 cups of hot water into the reserved glaze and add it to the saucepan. Cook until it starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and generously season with salt and pepper.
6. Remove the loaf from the oven and let stand for 20 minutes. Then serve directly from the casserole dish, alongside your favorite mashed potatoes topped with the gravy.
Recipe and photo reprinted with permission from Dey Street Books.
