Ree Drummond Cooks Up The Pioneer Woman Cowboy Christmas

She used to be a tofu-and-seaweed Hollywood type. But now blog queen, bestselling author and mother of four Ree Drummond is known as the Pioneer Woman. She'll ring in the holiday season, from her home in Oklahoma cattle country, with the Food Network special The Pioneer Woman Cowboy Christmas (Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8/7c). TV Guide Magazine lassoed Drummond to get the delish dish.

TV Guide Magazine: What year is this? Your Yuletide special — a neighborhood potluck party — seems like it could have been filmed decades ago.
Drummond: When all our cowboy and rancher friends get together, you don't know what era it is! We're still showing up in our starched outfits and sitting down to eat on red-checked tablecloths. It's timeless. And, of course, nothing says Christmas like a roping contest.

TV Guide Magazine: When you met your husband, rancher Ladd Drummond, you were a confirmed vegetarian who'd been living in L.A. for years. How did you find your way back to meat?
Drummond: Not kicking and screaming, that's for sure! Shortly after I met my Marlboro Man, he cooked me a steak in the most incredible sizzling garlic butter. I thought, "When in Rome, right? I'll take just one bite." And that was it. I not only fell in love but my seven years as a proud vegetarian came to an end right then and there.

TV Guide Magazine: Probably for the best. Isn't it next to impossible to be a vegetarian down your way?
Drummond: We live in Osage County. [Laughs] You'd get run out of town by the sheriff! 

TV Guide Magazine: What did you think of that August, Osage County flick?It made you folks seem like a bunch of drunk, pill-addicted crackpots!
Drummond: You know what? I haven't met one single person in our county who was put off by that film. We thought it was funny. Besides, how can you get mad at Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts?

TV Guide Magazine: Is it tricky being a supercook so far from civilization?
Drummond: It's quite a challenge. The secret is preparing a good grocery list. You really have to plan. The nearest supermarket is an hour away, and the closest big-box store is 90 minutes. I'll go there with a huge horse trailer and load up. Forget ordering a pizza or trying to order in! That's why I cook so much. It's not just because I love it. It's a necessity.

TV Guide Magazine: Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to your memoir, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels,in hopes of making a rom-com, reportedly to star Reese Witherspoon. What's happening with that?
Drummond: The last thing I heard, it's in the screenwriting realm. When they optioned it I didn't say a word to anyone, except my husband. I never saw it as a real possibility. I mean, it's crazy, right? So I'm very easy about it. If it actually happens, it'll be fun. If not, that's fine. It's all good.

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