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.”
This cover image released by Dey Street shows “Y’all Eat Yet?: Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin’ Kitchen” by Miranda Lambert with Holly Gleason. (Dey Street via AP)
The book cover (Dey Street via AP)
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(asterisk)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 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.”
