Meeting The Pioneer Woman

Last Saturday I had the fantastic opportunity to meet Ree Drummond, or better known as, The Pioneer Woman! Of course I shared this opportunity with about 1000 other people! (Darn... those other folks got in my way!) She came to OKC to sign her new cookbook and believe me I was counting down the days to not only get this book but to actually meet the gal!

I have many reasons to admire The Pioneer Woman, but the greatest reason is that she taught me to cook. When my wonderful Aunt Janine gave me PW's first cookbook for my 21st birthday I stayed up night and after night studying her photographed step-by-step recipes. I was living in my dorm and had no kitchen, but I was jotting notes for my future married life.

Later my cousin Jenny convinced me to check out her blog and wow... I learned even more!

From basic things like cutting onions and peppers, to harder tasks such as whipping out gravy and rolling out pie crust, PW showed me great techniques for cooking. I even baked my first successful cake thanks to the one and only PW. I love reading about her life on the ranch and love watching her on her Food Network show.

I got to the signing location very very early- I wasn't going to miss getting a front seat to see her speak!

The room was packed and I saw some camera crews as well. There were 9 groups of 50 people when the signing began, and more groups were formed as the day went on. Thankfully I was able to get in group 1! (I pre-ordered my book on the phone in advance and reserved my spot)

We put our named on little sticky notes so she would know how to spell our names. On mine I wrote, "Kristin Marie". She asked me if I wanted her to write Marie, and I told her yes because it was my grandmother's middle name and so I was a little attached to it.

She told me that her grandmother's name was Marie, and that was why she was named Ree. I thought that was pretty cool. It's like we're connected or something.... only not. Oh goodness I wish I was related to the lady!

What a fun morning I had!
Check it out- it's Ree's car!

That's dirt from her ranch on that car!!!

The next day I made my first dish from her cookbook- BBQ Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas! I also made her pico to go with it. It was delish!

I love the Pioneer Woman and I'm SO happy I got to meet her!