The Pioneer Woman (2011–…): Season 2, Episode 12 - Family Matters - full transcript

♪♪

I'm ree drummond,
the pioneer woman.

Here is what's happening
on the ranch.

It's canapes,
cocktails and canvases

with a really fun
painting class at the merc.

I'm taking finger food
for the artists,

delicious mini hawaiian
chicken skewers,

a good looking,
great tasting veggie bite,

little zucchini caprese sliders

and picture perfect
marbled butterfly sugar cookies,

all washed down with
a total cocktail masterpiece,



strawberry basil mojitos
to inspire the artists,

including me.

Welcome to my frontier.

♪♪

once a week at the merc
after closing time,

we have painting classes,

and I have been wanting
to go for quite some time.

So tonight in addition
to taking the painting class,

I'm going to take along food
and a cocktail,

so I better get started.

Butterfly
cookies coming right up!

♪♪

okay, I've got everything ready.

Now I don't know how my canvas



is going to turn out
at the class tonight,

but I think the cookies
are going to be just gorgeous.

I'm going to do a little
marbling effect to the icing.

We'll see how they turn out.

I'm making the cookie
dough first.

I started with 1 stick plus
2 tablespoons

of softened butter,
3/4 of a cup of sugar,

and then the zest
of half of an orange

gives it a nice citrus flavor.

Now let the mixer
start creaming this together.

We started the painting classes
at the merc

a couple of months ago,
and we really just did it

as a way to get through
the slower winter months

until spring arrived.

Well, spring arrived,

and people kept calling
wanting to reserve places

in the painting classes,
so we're just going to keep them

going as long as people
are interested,

and everybody has food
and cocktails.

I'm really getting excited
about it.

I haven't been able to make
one yet,

so tonight is my chance.
All right.

I'm going to let this
finish creaming,

and then I'll move on
with the next steps.

It takes about 2 minutes
to finish the creaming process,

so I'll add 1 egg,
1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla,

mix it in,
scrape the mixer down,

give it another beat
and turn the mixer off.

Next I'll add 2 cups
of all purpose flour

to a sifter with 1/2
a tablespoon of baking powder,

1/4 a teaspoon of salt
and sift it together.

Now with the mixer on low,
I'll add the dry mix,

alternating with 3 tablespoons
of milk

until the dough
comes together.

Perfect!

The dough looks great.

I want to get it into the fridge
to chill

for just a little bit
before I try to roll it out.

It always makes it
a little easier.

This is the sugar cookie recipe

I use whenever I make pretty
much any roll and cut cookie.

I'm just going to pad it
into a neat little disc,

and then
I'll get it into a bag.

Oh, it smells so good.

That orange zest just
totally transforms it.

All right.

Now I'm going to get this
into the fridge for 2 hours.

See you later!

♪♪

time flies, doesn't it?

The dough has been chilling
for 2 hours,

so I'm going to get it
out of the bag.

Try not to eat it
in the process.

♪♪

all right.

Rolling, cutting and baking
coming right up.

Rolling first --
I'll flour the board

and get to work on the dough

and keep going until
it's about 1/4 an inch thick.

Then cutting, I'm going to use
a 3 inch butterfly cutter

dipped in flour
on half the dough

and a 2 inch cutter also dipped
in flour on the other half,

then put them on a baking sheet

and bake them at 350 degrees
for 7 minutes,

then let them sit for 5 minutes

before putting them on a rack
to cool completely.

Now that the beautiful butterfly
cookies are baked and cooled,

it's time to make the frosting.

I've got a whole bunch
of powdered sugar in the mixer,

and I'm going to add
some milk slowly.

This is going to be a gorgeous,
glossy frosting,

and I'm going to marble it,
and I'm very excited about that.

Marbled butterfly cookies,
talk about gorgeous,

and what makes the frosting
glossy is egg white.

These are actually
pasteurized egg whites

that you can buy
in the supermarket.

They come in handy
whenever you're going

to keep
the egg whites raw,

that way you don't have
to worry about bacteria.

Okay, now that this is not
in danger of poofing everywhere,

I'm going to turn up
the speed just a bit,

and I'll keep mixing
until it's totally combined.

I've experimented a little bit
with the milk quantity

for this frosting.

If you don't add enough,
it's really thick,

and if you add too much,

it's watery and drips
off the cookie,

so the stakes
are very high here.

I want the cookies to be pretty
for the painting students,

and I haven't met
any of them,

so it's going to be
a really fun night.

Look at that.

It's perfectly drippy.

So I'm going to pour it
into three little bowls,

and the reason I'm using
three different bowls

is that I'm going
to treat them

as three different
batches of frosting.

The marbling process can be
a little bit messy

because the colors
start to mix

together the more cookies
you dip,

so if you have three
little bowls to work with

when the icing starts
to look messy and dirty,

you can move on
to the next bowl.

All right.

I'm going to try not to make
a royal mess.

I'm using gel food coloring
in little pots,

and I'm going
to start with red,

and I'll just drop
a pretty generous drop

and then a second drop of red.

I miss the old days where you
could just squirt food coloring

out of a bottle,

but that old fashioned
food coloring

does not work
as well as the gel.

I have tried it.

And now
I'll scoop up some orange,

and I'll alternate
red and orange dots,

and the little globs
don't have to be perfect

when they go into the icing

because I'm going
to take a skewer,

and I'm going to go in
and just swirl it around

just to get a little bit
of marbling

on the surface
of the frosting.

Okay, I think that;s
swirly enough.

Now I'll grab one of
the butterfly cookies

and just dip it into the surface
and then lift it up,

and when you lift it up,
just kind of move it around

so the icing
doesn't wind up in a pile.

Look how beautiful that is.

Oh, my gosh.
It's a marble butterfly cookie.

I'm going to finish all of these
and get them on racks.

♪♪

they turned out so pretty.

No two cookies are identical,
and I love that.

So I just need to let them
set completely

before I pack them
up for tonight.

These look like they belong
in an art show,

if not at the met,
then definitely at the merc.

Up next, mini hawaiian
chicken skewers,

zucchini caprese sliders
and strawberry basil mojitos.

Then I'm unleashing more of
my inner artist

at the marvelous
merc painting class.

I'm heading to the merc tonight
to our weekly painting class.

Now usually the merc team
provides snacks and cocktails,

but since
I'm going along tonight,

I offered to bring them.

I'm going to take a couple
of savory snacks,

starting with mini
hawaiian chicken skewers.

I'm making the glaze
for the skewers first.

I started with 1/2 a cup of
thick teriyaki sauce,

and I'm going to add
a bunch of minced ginger

and a bunch of minced garlic.

Now this glaze has some other
good stuff going on:

1 tablespoon of brown sugar,

and for spice about

1/2 a teaspoon of crushed red
pepper flakes,

and then I'll slice up
some green onions.

I'm going to save half of them

and add the other half
to the glaze.

I thought taking snacks
and cocktails tonight

would detract from the fact

that I really have
no painting talent whatsoever.

I just don't want anyone to get
their hopes up

about what my canvas is going
to look like at the end.

Okay, I'll add half of these
to the glaze,

and I'm going to hold back
the rest for garnish later,

and then I'm going to slice
a lime in half

and squeeze in the juice.

And then a little dash of salt.

And then I'll just stir this up.

We also have cookie classes
at the merc.

It's really been fun
to add these classes.

The cookie class is pretty fun

because everybody goes home
with the cookies that they make.

All right.
This glaze looks marvelous.

It's so thick, so much going on.

So I'm going to leave that,
and I'll build the skewers.

I thought it would be cute
to do little bitty skewers,

and I've got cut-up
chicken breast.

I'll start with a piece,

and then I've also got chunks
of red bell pepper

and a chunk
of canned pineapple.

Doesn't get any easier
than that, and then I'll repeat

this one more time with chicken,
pepper and pineapple.

You can do green bell pepper,

any kind of veggie
that you want.

It's really perfect
for a casual party.

All right.

I'm going to keep going
with these.

It's going to make about
30 skewers,

and while I do, let me show you
all the preparation

that's happening
for the class tonight.

♪♪

the space is being set up
by barista aaron,

our event manager brittany,
and bakery manager jackie.

This one's fine.
Let's move this one over here.

Meanwhile, mallory,
who's teaching tonight's class

is getting to work
on the canvases,

sketching the outline
for the paintings.

So we've chosen the boot
with wildflowers

because really what's more ree
than a boot

with flowers out of it.

They get to choose,
like, their own designs,

so it's kind of unique
to themselves.

Everyone does the same image,

but it really comes out
differently with each one.

Ree: Aaron is running
the bar tonight.

Aaron: I'm just getting wine set
up at the moment

because ree is bringing
her own signature cocktail.

Ree: Mallory has got a great
team with help

from fellow baristas jade,
sarah, and katie.

Cool, could you guys
grab the easels now,

and then that's everything
we need to start setting up?

Yeah.

Our staff at the merc
is so great.

They have had a lot of fun
getting these classes started.

They work so hard.

They are just the best.

Now I'm seasoning
the skewers first

with a little salt and pepper.

My marginal art talent aside,

I'm really looking forward
to tonight.

It is going to be fun.

The first thing I'm going to do
is pour off some of the glaze.

I'm going to brush part of it
on the uncooked chicken

and part of it
on the cooked chicken,

so I don't want
to mix those up.

Now I will brush the skewers
on one side

with this sticky,
luscious glaze, so good.

We've been so busy at the merc
that when we first started

talking about doing the cookie
and painting classes,

I was afraid everybody
would say, "are you kidding?"

but they all just totally
jumped right in.

All right.
The first side is glazed,

so now I'm going to
ok these babies.

I'll put them on the grill
brush-side down,

brush the top side with marinade

and cook them
for about 3 minutes,

then turn them
and using a fresh brush

and a second bowl of marinade
bast the skewers,

cook them for another 3 minutes
then put them on a platter.

I'll do exactly the same again
with the second batch

and put them
on the platter too.

These are so pretty, and they
actually taste delicious

at room temperature,
so they're all set.

They just need a little
final flourish,

some sliced green onion for
color and a little flavor too.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Dare I say, "a work of art?"

up next, a zucchini
caprese twist on sliders,

the fine art of cocktails
with a strawberry basil mojito

and then it's school time
for the artistic

and the not-so-artistic.

♪♪

I have never been much
of a painter.

Ballet was more my art form
growing up, but I say,

"you're never too old to learn,"

so I am going to the painting
class at the merc tonight

and see if I can sharpen
whatever skills I have.

I'm taking food and drink along,

including zucchini
caprese sliders.

These are beautiful
and scrumptious

and fresh and flavorful,

and they happen to very low
carbs, so that's a bonus.

I just grilled a bunch
of zucchini slices.

I brushed them with a little
olive oil

and sprinkled them
with salt and pepper.

They're so pretty,
and I took them off the grill

before they got too flimsy
and mushy.

Now I'm going to make
a delicious dressing

that goes in the sliders,

and it starts with about a cup
of mayonnaise, give or take,

and a few tablespoons
of jarred pesto.

The mixture of pesto and mayo

is pretty much
my favorite condiment.

I use it all the time.

I'm going to stir it
a little bit,

and then I'll splash
in some red wine vinegar

just to give it
a little bit of a tang,

and I'll stir it
until it's combined.

This kind of light party food

is one of my favorite categories
of food in general.

If I didn't have two
football-playing teenagers

and a busy cattle rancher
at home,

I would eat like this
all the time.

Okay, that looks fantastic.

Now I'm going to grab a couple
of slices of the zucchini,

and I'll start building
these things.

I've got a big block
of mozzarella,

and I'll cut a slice, and then
I'll cut the slice in half,

and then I need
a slice of tomato.

These are great because you can
make two or three sliders,

or you can make
a big ol' platter full,

depending on how many people
you need to feed.

Okay, to put them together,

I'll just grab a spoonful
of the pesto mayo,

and I don't like to be shy
with the stuff.

I really want to taste it.

The mozzarella and tomato
and zucchini are delicious,

but they're really mild,

so this dressing just
makes them so flavorful,

and then I'll take one of
the half slices of mozzarella

and a slice of tomato,

and if a little bit
of that pesto mayo

runs over the side,
that's a good thing

because it means
it's going to be delicious,

and I have a pile
of beautiful basil leaves,

so I'll put a whole leaf
right on top of the tomato

and then a little bit
more of the pesto

mayo on the top
slice of zucchini

and put that upside down.

Look at that.

I want the sliders to stay
together on my trip to town,

so I'll stick in a toothpick
to hold it together.

So pretty!
All right.

I've got to build a bunch more
of these, so while I do that

I'll take you back to town,

where the team
is full steam ahead.

♪♪

mallory and her squad
are setting out the room

with aprons, water pots,
easels and brushes,

and aaron is almost ready
for the students to arrive.

This is just my little bar.

It's where I'm going to
make my drinks.

I've got a few different wines
set out,

a couple reds,
a couple whites.

We got a cheese tray out
because everybody likes

a little cheese and crackers
to go with the wine,

and we're just
getting ready to roll.

Ree: Then there are the all
important canvases

and the paints to sets out.

All right, I think we're now
ready for the class.

♪♪

the merc staff,
they're such hard workers.

I'm going to say it again.

I just love those guys.
All right.

I'm going to garnish the sliders
tonight with some basil leaves,

so I'm getting those
into a container.

Everything smells so good
in this kitchen.

I love the smell of basil.

Get the lid on.

Along with the basil leaves,

I'm also going to drizzle
on some balsamic glaze,

so I've got that.

Now I'm going to pack
everything up and go ahead

and head to town, and on my way
I'll tell you about the cocktail

I have planned.

Talk about a masterpiece.

Up next, the lowdown on
the strawberry basil mojitos

that I'm taking
to the painting class,

where I'm exploring
a little of my artistic side.

♪♪

I'm heading to the merc in town
for our weekly painting classes,

and I'm taking canapes
and everything I need

for strawberry basil mojitos.

They're really delicious,
really easy to make.

So far, I've made
the strawberry basil puree.

♪♪

I added 1 ounce of fresh basil
leaves to the processor along

with 1 1/2 pounds of hulled
and quartered strawberries

and 2 cups of lime juice.

I pulsed it 10 times,
leaving a good bit of texture,

and poured it
into a large container,

made a second batch
and added that.

Then I poured in simple syrup,
which is 2 cups of water

and 2 cups of sugar heated

until the sugar dissolves
and then cooled.

I mixed everything together,
put it in two pitchers

and chilled it until I was ready
to leave for town.

So that's the puree base
for the mojitos,

which I'll mix up
at the merc like this:

First 1/2 a cup
of the strawberry basil puree,

2 ounces of light rum,

lots of ice, a quick stir
and a splash of soda,

then for garnish
a dramatic stalk of fresh basil

and a wedge of lime.

I'll finish the sliders with
a drizzle of balsamic glaze

and a sprinkling
of basil leaves.

Then I'll set out the food
and everything for the cocktail.

Okay, see you at painting class!

I'm so excited and maybe
a little nervous.

♪♪

all right, painting
class students,

come on up,
grab a mojito.

So did you all drive or fly?
Flew.

Oh, you flew, good.

No wonder you look so refreshed.

And help yourselves to food,

and those are zucchini
caprese sliders

and also little hawaiian
chicken skewers

and of course butterfly cookies.

Thank you, aaron!
Absolutely, any time.

Appreciate your help.

So arkansas,
arizona and illinois.

Oklahoma.

Who has artistic ability?

[ laughter ]

oh, I feel so much better.

If you guys are all ready,
you can come on over.

We all do look a little scared,
I have to say.

The first color we're going
to start with

is going to be the blue
for the sky.

♪♪

I am embracing my inner monet.

Oh, I got black in my blue.

♪♪

oh, that's so pretty.

I love your brush strokes.

I've learned that I am not good
at straight lines.

Things are falling apart.

♪♪

I decided to embrace my flaws.

♪♪

hey, is everybody finished?

I want to go see
everybody else's.

Oh, my gosh, you guys!

Oh!
I love it.

I love the little detail
on there, how cute!

Everybody say,
"straight lines."

[ camera shutter clicks ]

good job, ladies!
You did an amazing job!

Thank you!

Whoo-whoo!

♪♪