Cowboy Christmas: a chuckwagon chef shares his frontier menu for your holiday table

Sunset, Dec, 1997 by Linda Lau Anusasananan

* East of the crags of the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico lies the San Augustine Ranch, owned by Rob Cox's family. The ranch has been in the family since 1893, when Rob's grandfather W. W. Cox, fleeing Texas and a vindictive gunfighter, bought it and began running sheep.

History haunts this ranch in the water-scarce Tularosa Basin. The property's cluster of five crystal-clear springs attracted Indians, explorers, soldiers, settlers - and adventure: in wilder times, sheriff Pat Garrett gunned down one of the ranch hands right in the Cox kitchen. A short walk away are the ruins (presumably) of an early Spanish mission. And a bit farther down the road, a plaque marks the site of the Civil War "battle" of San Augustine Springs (no shots were fired).

In those days the chuckwagon, a kitchen on wheels, was essential when the ranch crew took to the open range. On one end of the wagon, a box with compartments held utensils, staples, dishes, and medicines. Its hinged door flipped down to become a worktable. Food was cooked in heavy cast-iron pans over the campfire or right in the hot coals.

Today, that range is smaller - in 1945 the government took over a great deal of the Tularosa Basin, including much of the Cox land, and the ranch now abuts the White Sands Missile Range. But Rob, a cattle rancher, and his wife, Murnie, still live in the original ranch house. And they keep frontier traditions alive, occasionally sharing a real chuckwagon Christmas dinner with close friends Edson and Jenny Way of Las Cruces and Art and Wanda Evans of Chuchillo.

Ed Way provides the old-timer recipes, following the sage advice of cowboy cooks: use what you have, work with what you scrounge up. They may hunt for quail and gather watercress, but they always depend on long-lasting root vegetables, and use once-standard chuckwagon supplies - vinegar, sugar, shortening, and flour - for the makings of an ingenious pioneer dessert, vinegar cobbler (it mimics apple cobbler surprisingly well).

Cowboy coffee goes with the cobbler. When water in the big enamel coffeepot boils, ground coffee is added. Then the pot comes off the fire, and crushed eggshells are thrown in to settle the grounds.

Certainly this meal is easier to prepare in a contemporary kitchen (and while our menu serves six, you can easily expand it into a party buffet).

But Christmas was made for traditions - even chuckwagons. And as the shadows grow long and the air gets chillier, the Old West feels very real on the San Augustine Ranch.

Quail in Cranberry Sauce

Prep and cook time: About 1 1/2 hours

Notes: Use cornstarch for a more transparent sauce. Buy or order quail at the supermarket, or use 3 Cornish hens (about 1 3/4 lb. each), cutting each in half through the back and breastbone with scissors.

Makes: 6 servings

12 quail (about 6 1/2 oz. each)

Salt and pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon-ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

About 2 cups watercress sprigs, rinsed and crisped

1. Remove giblets and trim necks from quail; save for another use. Rinse birds, pat dry, and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. In a deep 11- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add as many birds as will fit in pan and brown on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Lift out as browned, put in a bowl, and add remaining birds and more butter, if needed, to pan. When all the birds are out of pan, discard fat.

3. To pan, add cranberries, 1 cup water, brown sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Stir over high heat until simmering. Return birds and accumulated juices to pan.

4. Cover and simmer over low heat, turning birds over after 10 minutes, until thighs are tender when pierced, 20 to 30 minutes total. With a slotted spoon, transfer birds to a warm platter.

5. Smoothly blend flour with 2 tablespoons water, then mix into pan. Stir over high heat until sauce comes to a rolling boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour over birds, and garnish platter with watercress.

Per serving: 759 cal., 51% (387 cal.) from fat; 65 g protein; 43 g fat (13 g sat.); 24 g carbo (1.6 g fiber); 225 mg sodium; 260 mg chol.

Butter-steamed Carrots and Parsnips

Prep and cook time: About 20 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

6 carrots (about 1 1/4 lb. total)

6 parsnips (about 1 1/4 lb. total)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Salt

1. Peel, then trim ends of carrots and parsnips. Cut the vegetables in half lengthwise.

2. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add carrot halves and 3/4 cup water; cover and cook 3 minutes.

3. Add parsnip halves, cover, and continue cooking until vegetables are tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes longer.

4. Uncover the pan and shake it frequently until liquid has evaporated. Pour the vegetables into a bowl and add salt to taste.

Per serving: 130 cal., 29% (38 cal.) from fat; 1.9 g protein; 4.2 g fat (2.4 g sat.); 23 g carbo (6.3 g fiber); 76 mg sodium; 10 mg chol.