Cookbookology #2 -"Towns, Trails, and Special Times" - The Marlboro Country Cookbook
What the Marlboro Man eats for breakfast.
ATTENTION: I DO NOT SMOKE, AND I IN NO WAY CAN ENDORSE SMOKING IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. I JUST WANT TO GIVE SOME LOVE TO THIS COOKBOOK! NO MARLBORO CIGARETTES WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THIS REVIEW.
Perhaps the most powerful thing that impresses me about a well written and well produced cookbook, is that it gives me a firsthand culinary perspective into the lives of people who I do not otherwise have a chance to meet. Whether it be of a chef that owns and operates a prestigious restaurant in Manhattan, a farmers market vendor in Thailand, a Southern housewife, or a pub owner in Scotland, I find that cookbooks often give me an the edible perspective of people who I do normally get to meet.
While these all are are those real people, every now and then I find a cookbook that successfully embodies the culinary perspective of a fictional character. A number of years ago, I discovered a cookbook that transported me int the world of one of the best known fictional characters of the American west. That character is The Marlboro Man.
BACK STORY In the years before 1954, Marlboro cigarettes were were marketed as a woman’s cigarette, were responsible for only 1% of all cigarette sales. In an effort to rebrand the cigarettes, Phillip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, hired Leo Burnett and his advertising company to develop an ad campaign that would persuade male smokers to smoke Marlboros . Burnett came back to the executives of Phillip Morris with the idea of showing various men working manly jobs and enjoying manly hobbies while smoking Marlboro cigarettes. According to Burnett, the most manly occupation that a man could possibly have is that of a cowboy. It is at that moment that the Marlboro Man was created.
From 1955-1999 the Marlboro Man, a rugged cowboy character was shown in advertisements riding his horse on the range, lassoing steers driving cattle, and doing all of the things that one would expect a cowboy to do. And the Marlboro Man was always enjoying a Marlboro cigarette. Whether the Marlboro Man ads were on television, in magazines, or on billboard signs, they always showed the Marlboro Man living his best cowboy life in the middle of the rugged, untamed, mountain lined horizon of the American West. To say the effectiveness of the Marlboro Man advertising was overnight success is a complete understatement. Within two years of its launching the Marlboro Man ads, Phillip Morris saw Marlboro sales grow over 300%. And in 1972, became the largest selling of cigarettes in the world. With annual sales in the hundreds of billions of dollars, the Marlboro Man is considered to be one of the most recognizable images in advertising. Even if you don’t smoke, chances are that you probably heavily identify with the idea of the Marlboro Man living his life as a rugged individual in the American West. Over the decades different men have been used to be the Marlboro Man. In fact the Marlboro Man is so recognizable in advertising that some people actually believe that he is a real person.
WHAT DOES THE MARLBORO MAN EAT FOR BREAKFAST? So if the Marlboro were real what would his life be like? We all know that his activities as a cowboy keep him busy for most of the time, but what does the Marlboro Man do for fun? Where does he hang out? And perhaps most importantly, what does the Marlboro Man like to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner?
GETTING A COPY OF A MARLBORO COOKBOOK Sometime in the either the 80’s or 90’s (I apologize but there is not a publishing date of this book). Phillip Morris decided to give the public a gastronomic glimpse and published “Towns, Trails, and Special Times”, The Marlboro Country Cookbook”. Not sold in stores or any retail outlets, the Marlboro cookbook was offered as part of the company’s points system where customers could collect points for buying and using Marlboro cigarettes. If Marlboro users collected enough points, they could redeem them for all sorts of various prizes i.e. hats, coats, shirts, wrist watches, water bottles, playing cards, belt buckles, lighters, etc. ), and also a copy of “Towns, Trails, and Special Times”.
Being a nonsmoker, I had no idea that this cookbook even existed. In 2003, I came across a copy of at a garage sale for $2.00. Looking at not much more than the cover, I bought it figuring that I couldn’t go wrong for the asking price.
Opening up the book, I found that the book was amazing and impressive on a number of different. Filled with pictures of beautiful western landscapes, rustic recipes, perfectly styled among cast iron cookware and faded bandanas, this cookbook like no other incredibly captures a sense of place of the American West. The book also includes some very cool extras, like some stylish postcards Western, a really cool poster, and a special plastic page protector cover that can be used to prevent accidental stains, and splatters. Teasing my imagaiation, I find that “Towns, Trails, and Special Times” is an extremely well conceived creation of a fictional an advertising character showing what would be culinary facets of the Marlboro Man. It is no wonder that people believe that the Marlboro Man really exists.
SO WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT THIS BOOK? Looking at the table of contents, one finds that “Towns, Trail, and Special Times is that it is not organized like a normal cookbook. There are no categories or listings for appetizers, soup, salads, or desserts, etc. Exactly like the book’s title, the recipes are listed under three main of categories of Towns, Trails, and Special Times, under each main category are listed subcategories such as: Chili Parlors, Pool Halls, High Country Camps, and Blue Ribbon Recipes. By using this type of recipe categorization, I find that it gives the user an incredible sense of place and gives one the impression that these are the places that the Marlboro Man hangs out, what restaurants he likes to go to, what he eats by the campfire after a hard day of driving longhorns across the range, and what dishes he chooses to serve to put on his Christmas menu.
Filled with over 160 cowboy themed recipes, “Towns, Trails, and Special Times”, contains a trove of incredible recipes. If you are in need of a new chili recipe the book offers 12 to choose from. I have been using this book for over 20 years, and while I have not prepared all of the recipes within it, the recipes that I have prepared have more than exceeded my expectations. Any time that I am preparing a standing rib roast I use pull this book off of the shelf. I also use have found that the pastry shell makes an excellent pie. Other recipes of note are the sourdough flapjacks, baked chips, and the one pan cake.
WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS BOOK While I find “Towns, Trails, and Special Times a joy to cook from, I do have one beef with it. My beef lies in the fact that there is no publishers information listed in the book. Not a speck of information or credit was given on who the editors, food stylists, photographers, graphic designers were. I was so impressed with the design of this book that I truly wanted to find more information about the respective members of the team that put this book together. But unfortunately any publishing details are not given. To all of the people who worked in creating this cookbook, I sincerely thank you, and I am sorry that you did not get an recognition for your efforts. In my opinion, this book (and all of the other Marlboro books published by Philip Morris) were deserving of being nominated for a “James Beard” award. Since this cookbook was a company publication only offered to Marlboro customers, the general public had no very little idea of that this cookbook had been printed.
Pictured below, I included a sneak peek at some pages inside “Towns, Trails, and Special Times”.
Another much smaller complaint that I have is that the recipe index is a bit confusing, for the recipes are listed underneath their respective course in which they would be served. In other words, this is more in line with what the table of contents typically looks like in a more traditional cookbook. As I say, this is a small complaint, but there have been a couple of times that I could not immediately find the recipe that I needed.
FINAL THOUGHTS In conclusion, I find that “Towns, Trail, and Special Times” is an incredible publishing feat. The pictures are perfect. The recipes are showstoppers and all of them are blue ribbon caliber.
Like I said at the beginning, the cooking out of this book seemingly puts you into the middle of the American West and makes you a part Marlboro country; whether you smoke or not. Wherever the contributors of this cookbook may be, I give them my highest compliments on creating a cookbook that seemingly brings the image of the Marlboro Man to life and leads me to believe that not only is he one heck of a cowboy, but he is the best of cooks. I just hope that he doesn’t smoke when he’s in the kitchen.
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HOT CINNAMON BUNS (from “Towns, Trails, and Special Times”)
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast 1/2 cup lukewarm water 3/4 cup lukewarm milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup soft butter margarine 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 4-5 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup soft butter or margarine 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp. chili powder (optional) 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. coriander 1/4 tsp. each, ground cloves, allspice, and cardamon 1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate pieces
Directions: Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Add milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, salt, eggs, and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Beat in additional flour until a soft dough is formed.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Place in a buttered bowl; turning dough to butter top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 90 minutes. Punch down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 16 x 18 inch rectangle. Spread with 1/4 cup softened butter.
Combine 1/3 cup sugar and spices; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle chocolate pieces over sugar.
Roll up tightly on the 16 inch side. Pinch end to seal. Cut into 8 slices. Place in a greased 13 x 9 - inch pan.
Let rise until rolls double, about 40 minutes. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. While warm, spoon over Vanilla Glaze (recipe below).
Makes 8 buns.
Vanilla Glaze: Mix together until smooth: 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, 1/4 cup milk and 1 tsp. vanilla.
Yes! This cookbook is a real hidden gem. We had a copy that we picked up in a used bookstore in 2021. No one in my family smoked but we probably bought it based on the cover too. I remember the chili recipe being really good. I don't know if we still have a copy, but I think about these books a lot (which is how I found this post about it). I'll have to try these cinnamon rolls. Thanks for sharing.