With his inspired mix of country storytelling, rock showmanship and poetic, Texas-flavored writing, Pat Green has been called the “Springsteen of the Southwest” for years now … but maybe it should be the “Gordon Ramsey” instead.
A true renaissance man of creation, Green will shift between songwriting, painting, sculpting and more depending on how the spirit moves him, and has long sought out a balanced diet of expression. But once COVID-19 hit, a bigger-than-normal part of that balanced diet was a literal one — since he and his family saw a huge uptick in making home-cooked meals.
For Green, preparing meals for the family fires his imagination just like a hot-off-the-grill country song. Early on in life, he even thought it would be his profession.
“I dont’ think anybody that’s ever loved their mother didn’t love being in the kitchen with her,” he explains, speaking with Sounds Like Nashville from his home in Texas. “I certainly did and took a lot from mine.
“At one point in my life, when I was 7 or 8 years old, I thought I was gonna be a baker, because I loved mama’s cookies,” he goes on. “It took me a long time to figure out that baking is a very precise thing, so at some point I fell in love with Biscuits & Gravy instead — because biscuits really aren’t that difficult, especially when you have a box. [laughs]. I always used to try to make my own gravy, too, and once I found Pioneer, I stopped trying to make my own gravy. But yeah, my family and I love spending time in the kitchen. We love making great food, and I love being around them.”
Back in September that love led Green to announce an official partnership with Pioneer, the Texas-based flour and scratch-made mixes company who are celebrating their 170th anniversary this year. According to him, the collaboration is an all-natural one, since that love of biscuits and gravy has left him stocking the pantry with Pioneer products for years. But as much as Green loved being in the kitchen with his mom, it was the way his dad made breakfast that he still sticks to his ribs.
“Other than being a successful musician,” Green says, “I feel like trying to beat my dad at breakfast is the only thing I really want to accomplish in life.”
With that in mind, the guy who arguably kicked off the modern Red-Dirt movement has now gone in for a different kind of innovation — helping develop a custom homemade recipe with Pioneer. Aiming to create a dish that is filling, tasty, easy and affordable — but also featuring Green’s adventurous artistic spirit, and something his family would still love — he combined some of his favorite things and came up with this: Country-Style Eggs Benedict (with a side of Blueberry Pancakes).
“It’s the Gravy Benedict: Biscuits & Gravy with a fried egg, fried up in a pan, add sausage and cover it with gravy,” Green says proudly. “It is the most health-conscious, most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and then you serve it up with a side of blueberry pancakes. It’s hard to beat, really. But you’ll probably need a workout when you’re done.”
Smothered in Green’s favorite right-from-the-box gravy, the recipe is available now at Pioneer website. He’s also got new music in the works, which he tells SLN fans will get more info on very soon. But in the meantime, it looks like the “Springsteen of the Southwest” can start introducing himself with a new title — one that proves he’s on track to achieve his true goal in life, and one day beat his old man at breakfast.
“Oh yeah, I’m the bacon-est makin’-est chocolate-chip pancake king,” Green says with a laugh. “That’s my new official title.”