The Pioneer Woman Recap: Engagement Dinner

Emily Caruso | Jelly Toast

What did The Pioneer Woman cook up this week? Read on. Find out!

Get your appetites ready because this week on The Pioneer Woman, Ree and her sister-in-law Missy are cooking up an enormous feast.

They must be in some sort of secret competition to see how many waistbands they can pop on their guests’ jeans because the food is coming in droves. What’s the occasion, you ask? Their long time friend and babysitter, Haley’s Engagement Dinner.

Ree mentioned Haley several months ago during her Essential Cooking Tools episode where she was shopping for Wedding Shower gifts for her, but now the real celebration is underway. And a celebration on the Ranch means one thing: beef.

The Pioneer Woman Image Pic

Ree get’s right to the point and begins with her giant Herb Roasted Beef. In a food processor, she pulses together olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, sage and thyme. Ree takes the finished rub, that looks more like a marinade or sauce, and pours it over to enormous rib roasts.

After a quick rub, the slabs of beef are ready to roast. She roasts them until they are cooked to a perfect medium rare. This recipe looks quite simple, with most of the recipe being hands off roasting time.

You can’t have tender rich prime rib without some horseradish sauce and Ree’s simple recipe of prepared horseradish, sour cream, a splash of heavy cream, spicy brown mustard, salt and pepper looks like perfection.

To go along side the beef, there are several vegetable recipes starting with some sweet Whisky Glazed Carrots. Ree begins the recipe by browning the carrots with some melted butter in a dutch oven. After the carrots are browned and removed, she adds a large amount of whisky and deglazes the pan and simmers the whisky until it’s reduced slightly.

Ree adds two sticks of butter and a generous amount of brown sugar before adding the carrots back into the pan to allow them to glaze perfectly in the thick, sweet sauce.

Next on the vegetable line-up is Roasted Asparagus with Peas. The addition of peas is a new twist on a pretty standard roasted asparagus recipe. When the asparagus is almost done roasting, Ree adds some frozen peas and finishes them off in the oven. The finished veggies get sprinkled with a homemade lemon salt which will be a wonderful, bright finish.

If you thought that the beef and vegetables were the only food for this party, think again. Don’t forget about the appetizer recipes! Ree is making Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Chili Butter. The chili butter is melted butter mixed with chili powder.

Half of the butter is reserved for later, but for now, the butter is being brushed onto the raw shrimp that she wrapped with bacon and skewered with a toothpick. The shrimp get roasted in the oven until cooked and fabulously crispy. The finished shrimp get brushed with the reserved chili butter and garnished with chopped green onions.

For the second appetizer, Ree is making Brie Stuffed Mushrooms. Any kind of stuffed mushroom is incredible, but Ree’s use of brie is truly something special. They start with gently sautéed mushroom caps that she stuffs with little pieces of brie before topping them with a savory, herb toping made from sautéed garlic, green onions, parsley and some white wine.

I can imagine that biting into these gooey, cheesy mushrooms would make just about anyone happy.

Let’s not forget that Missy is cooking and baking up a storm over at her end of the Ranch. She arrives at the Lodge with trays upon trays of beautiful cupcakes, not to mention some jalapeño poppers and a huge batch of creamy mashed potatoes.

To finish off this impressive spread, Ree makes decadent Chipotle-Salted Chocolate Truffles. This truffle recipe is very simple and uses chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla that get all melted together.

Ree cools this mixture in the fridge before scooping it into balls and coating them in more melted chocolate. The final sprinkling of chipotle salt gives these sweet truffles a savory, spicy kick. The perfect ending to this spicy, satisfying meal.

It’s never been doubted that Ree knows how to throw an ultimate Ranch party, and this huge Engagement bash for Haley is no exception. From the wooden crates, to the elegant wine glasses there is some truly lovely country charm at this party.

The only question that remains is, who is going to do all of the dishes?

Thank you for reading and please remember to visit our section of Pioneer Woman recipes!

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Emily Caruso

About Emily

Emily is known for her absurdly beautiful food photography and coffee co-dependencies on her Jelly Toast Blog. On Food Fanatic, she shares a third addiction: fabulous snacks.