Menu Eight

Josephine is a card shark with a wicked sense of humor. She is also a wonderful self-taught cook with an intuitive sense of how to make simple, delicious food. Spending time on a ranch in the California Sierra Mountains where she cooked, I would often tell Josephine that I’d enjoyed the meal. She’d reply, “It’s nothing fancy. I’m just a salt and pepper cook.”

Maybe. But she could make a mean pot of pinto beans and whip up a batch of perfect corn bread. Cooking three meals a day for hungry ranch hands is a thankless task; most ranch cooks get more gripes than compliments. But Jo charmed everyone with honest, wholesome, real food—all-American food—like good pot roast, vegetables from the garden, hot Parker House rolls, fruit pies, and cinnamon buns from scratch. Everything was completely delicious, full of flavor, perfectly seasoned. To the good ingredients on hand, Josephine added her calm common sense, her sure-footed experience—and salt and pepper.