Miranda Lambert shares family dishes and history in brand-new cookbook

By Kristin M. Hall

When she was a teen, Miranda Lambert listened at the dinner table while her grandmother, her mom and their good friends swapped gossip, life lessons and stories from East Texas.

Those overheard discussions over plates of enchiladas and banana pudding ended up being inspiration for Lambert's Grammy-winning musical career, teaching her the art of storytelling and amusing at the very same time.

" Some of my first tunes were discussed a few of the stories that they were going through," Lambert stated. "I hadn't lived it myself yet, however I actually took in that."

After nearly 2 decades in nation music and at the height of her profession as one of the most award-winning country artists, Lambert is dishing on those dishes-- and the stories behind them-- from her household and buddies in a book called "Y' All Eat? Welcome to the Pretty B( asterisk) tchin' Kitchen."

" It's actually essential to surround yourself with individuals who commemorate the great times and who hold you up through the bad times," said "The House That Built Me" singer. "That's what this whole book has to do with."

The book, out now on HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books, is equivalent parts Lambert's family memoir, a guide to Texas-style entertaining and a church potluck cookbook.

Be familiar with Lambert's granny "Nonny" and her mother "Bev" and all their vibrant female friends through the recipes they've switched and shared: the well-known meatloaf that often causes wedding bells, the whiskey cupcakes and the potini bar (mashed potatoes in a martini glass with all the garnishes.) She likewise teaches the tricks to glamping in her Airstream travel trailer and tubing down the Guadalupe River and her daddy offers a guide on flavoring a cast iron pan to perfection.

" Life on the roadway is difficult, and so it makes it that far more unique when you get to have a home-cooked meal," Lambert stated. "It's such an activating memory. It's like a fragrance or a tune."

Lambert has a lot to commemorate right now as she heads into the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11 as the reigning performer of the year. She's already the most granted artist in ACM history and she's up for the leading reward once again, along with breaking another record with her 17th female artist of the year election.

" I didn't actually get celebrate with everybody when I won in 2015, so this will resemble, 'Yay, hurrah! Who's going to get it next?'" Lambert said of the awards reveal, which will be held in Frisco, Texas, this year. "I'm really delighted that it's in Texas and I'm simply continuously happy for this community and the nation music family that has raised me up all these years and still elects my records and acknowledges my work."

She's also now an extremely in-demand totally free agent after leaving her long time label home Sony Music Nashville this spring. She was just 19 when she signed with the record label and debuted her very first Sony record "Kerosene" in 2005.

"It's a really various landscape from when I started," Lambert said but kept in mind that she's already got some collaborations in the works.

"It feels truly excellent to be totally free and simply sort of take an action back and a deep breath and let the creativity lead the decisions," Lambert said of her future musical plans.