Photo:Wayne Acuff
Wayne Acuff
Now you can get a taste ofDutton Ranchright at home.
Guilbeau admits that working on the book —Yellowstone: The Official Dutton Ranch Cookbook(out Sept. 12) —was “stressful.” “It was really new to me to literally put pen to paper,” he says.
The chef is used to being able to cook through the use of his senses rather than relying on measurements. “I don’t know. I can smell it. It smells like that’s how much to put in there,” he jokes.
In spite of these challenges, Guilbeau knew he’d be the only person for the job: “Our executive producer, David Glasser, reached out to me first about possibly doing this, and they asked if I would be interested at all.”
Guilbeau recalls telling Glasser, “Well, wouldn’t it be weird if I didn’t?” and Glasser agreed.
Guilbeau has been hard at work on this cookbook for the past year, but has been feeding theYellowstonecast and crew long before then. “In my six years there, I’ve done some of my best work in my whole career as far as feeding people goes,” he tells PEOPLE.
Throughout those years, Guilbeau has had to cook in the harsh environments of Montana, truly living like the characters ofYellowstone. “A lot of my inspiration comes from days on the ranch. Days where we were down, days where we were exhausted or cold or wet or hot, it really comes just from real life working on the Yellowstone,” he says.
Those times have resulted in recipes in the book like Rip’s Fry Bread with Scrambled Eggs and Bacon and Beth’s Cheesy Hamburger Mac Casserole. His “favorite recipe in the whole book” though is the Rancher’s Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings (below).
The dish has a bittersweet association. “I don’t know if I’d ever actually been real homesick before, and then, I was working in Pennsylvania and I don’t know, I just felt really homesick one day. And the only thing I could think of was what my mom used to make every couple months,” he says. “She would just make this very simple chicken soup with dumplings in it.”
Guilbeau says the recipe is “one of the big hitters” with film crews fromYellowstoneand beyond. “They say the same thing I say, ‘I feel like I’m sitting in my mom’s kitchen right now eating this,’ or they say something else that they’re not supposed to tell their moms: ‘This is better than theirs.’”
Yellowstone: The Official Dutton Ranch Cookbookwill go on sale Sept. 12 and is available for pre-order now.
Rancher’s Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings
For the stew:
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus 2 Tbsp. (optional), at room temperature, divided
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 large ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
¾ lb. Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tbsp. (optional), plus flour for dusting
Pinch of cayenne pepper
5-6 cups chicken stock
¼ cup half-and-half (optional)
Parsley, chopped, for serving
For the biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting
2 Tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced
1 cup buttermilk
Serves: 6-8
source: people.com
