Holiday Cooking With Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert Shares Holiday Memories & Three Great Recipes
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Growing up in the country outside her hometown of Lindale, Texas, country music queen Miranda Lambert has memories of big family holidays with her brother Luke and her parents Rick and Beverly. From fabulous family meals to over-the-top decorations, holidays in the Lambert house were always something special.
“My mother was adamant that the holidays are family time,” Lambert says. “Every single holiday was something else—and something special. Every single adult in my life—my Nonny, my mom, my dad—was obsessed with how to make the most out of each and every moment. Each of them made sure that every holiday was something we’d treasure and remember forever.”
Holiday Memories
For the Lamberts, Thanksgiving was all about the food. “There were special sit-down meals with fancy little touches and traditions we kept from year to year,” Lambert recalls.
Despite Lambert’s mom always trying to introduce new dishes and ideas, Lambert says her maternal grandmother, Nonny, always won the day.
“It was always at her house, decorated with the same swag,” Lambert recalls. “We always had the turkey and her dressing, the same casseroles and veggies. Knowing that Thanksgiving was coming and that we were going to all be together to count our blessings, eat too much, watch football, maybe sing John Prine, Robert Earl Keen, or George Strait songs while my daddy played guitar was so much fun.”
Like most families, Christmas was the Lambert’s holiday Super Bowl, always celebrated to the hilt, with room for everyone at the table.
“My parents are both big kids at heart and got the biggest kick out of everything Christmasy: pageants, parties, Santa, decorating, caroling, and, of course, the presents!” Lambert says. But at the core, the Lambert family Christmas was about “love, the joy of the season and celebrating family.”
Lambert would start the season by trudging through the woods with her dad looking for the perfect tree. That was followed by her mom decorating every room in the house.
“That was a big deal to Mom—she got a hardcore rush from making our house Christmas central,” Lambert says. Christmas ornaments were crafted out of dried fruit and cinnamon sticks. There were paper chains—with colored paper or gold spray-painted paper, popcorn strings, and tinsel.
Christmas Eve was spent at Nonny’s house for a traditional Christmas dinner. “It was just like Thanksgiving, but with a ham,” Lambert laughs. “We’d be told exactly what to bring, and that’s exactly what we brought.”
But after the more formal and fancy meal, the rest was done the Lambert way. Racing down the stairs to see the Santa spoils was a Lambert family favorite followed by Christmas morning breakfast featuring fried biscuit “donuts” rolled in sugar with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Later in the day, Christmas dinner featured prime rib with “the most delicious horseradish sauce,” roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and creamed spinach.
Take A Page From Miranda
Sharing her family’s food and holiday traditions in her New York Times bestselling cookbook Y’all Eat Yet? Welcome To The Pretty B*tchin’ Kitchen was a labor of love for Lambert, who collected favorite family recipes from her mom and Nonny, along with traditional Texas dishes to share with her fans. Filled with cherished family memories and plenty of fun stories, Y’all Eat Yet? is full of recipes that will fill your belly and your soul.
“It’s food meant to be shared, whether it’s eaten with your fingers, off of paper plates, or on your fanciest antique China,” Lambert says.
These days, Lambert calls Nashville home, but for the holidays, she frequently spends time with her family in Texas, with her husband’s family in New York, or hosts both families in Nashville. “The holidays are truly magical for me,” she says.
Editor’s Note: In addition to her cookbook, Miranda Lambert’s latest critically acclaimed album, Postcards from Texas, is now available everywhere. For more, visit mirandalambert.com.
Miranda Lambert’s Holiday Recipes
Roasted Root Vegetable Winter Salad
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 acorn squash, seeded and cubed
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
Dressing:
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. sriracha
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
Garnishes:
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted and cubed
• Pomegranate seeds
• Toasted pumpkin seeds
• Crumbled queso fresco
• Fresh cilantro leaves
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 400° F.
• Place the sweet potatoes and acorn squash on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss with the olive oil and salt. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes until the potatoes and squash are tender and golden.
• Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sriracha, maple syrup, honey, vinegar, and garlic.
• When the squash and sweet potatoes are done cooking, let cool for a few minutes, then arrange on a platter and drizzle with the dressing. Top with the avocado, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, and crumbled queso fresco.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves before serving.
Creamy Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
• 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. sea salt, plus more as needed
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cup cream sherry
• ½ cup heavy cream
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 475°F.
• On a parchment-lined baking sheet, toss the Brussels sprouts with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until browned, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown at the edges, 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the shallot and mushrooms. Cook until the shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sherry and cream, bring the mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
• Transfer the roasted Brussels sprouts to the skillet and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Magic Peanut Butter Cookies for Santa
In preparation for Santa’s arrival, Miranda Lambert and her brother Luke would make their Magic Peanut Butter Cookies for Santa. With only four ingredients, they are the crunchiest, easiest, yummiest things. “A cup of crunchy—must be crunchy—peanut butter, a cup of sugar, one egg, and a teaspoon of vanilla. That was it!” Lambert says. “Ten minutes on 350°F and—BOOM!—cookies for Santa. When you’re little, something that simple makes you very excited about getting ready for Mr. Claus.” The recipe below makes 15 cookies—two for Santa, and 13 for the rest of the family.
Ingredients
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Roll the dough into 15 balls (TIP: Oil your hands before rolling the dough into balls) and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, make a crisscross pattern in each ball of dough—this will also flatten them into a cookie shape.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes—until the cookies are browned along the edges, but not on top.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet.