Coconut adds a special touch for a perfect birthday cake.
This is Jamie’s signature chili which has always been a hit with friends and family.
These sandwiches are great for a picnic in the park.
Bobby: Some kids hate spinach but I never had to force it down, and now I really love it because it’s so good for you. Everyone will dig this super…
The first time we had fried pickles, we knew they had to go on the menu at The Lady & Sons. If you’ve never had them—or heard of them—give them…
On weekdays I don’t do much for breakfast—maybe a bowl of oatmeal or cold cereal. But on Sunday morning when I know I’m not going to do much of anything…
We always loved to pick fresh blackberries at Grandma Paul’s house, and we made all kinds of desserts with those great big, sweet berries, even though we had to…
Bobby: One Christmas morning we went to Mama’s for breakfast and gifts. She was frying up sausage, and I enjoyed it so much that I couldn’t stop talking about it.…
Nothing takes us back home quicker than a big plate of Mama’s Spaghetti Casserole; it was one of our favorites growing up, and we both still love to make it.…
Mama’s side of the family is Irish (Dad’s side is Cherokee Indian), so we grew up eating corned beef and cabbage often. Mama always flavors this sweet-salty dish with…
Bobby: When I cook for a date, I like to serve ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia® is my go-to flavor when I don’t have much time, but for…
Jamie: At the Salt Lick in Austin, Texas, I had the most incredible grilled ribs ever. I took the recipe and ran with it. I wound up with a dry-rub…
Jamie: Talk about a comfort food classic. Soup and grilled cheese just makes you feel taken care of and well fed. Sure, you could serve the soup on its own,…
When we were kids Mom and Dad started a garden. We grew all sorts of things, including sweet potatoes, which we call yams in the South. We grew up with…
The first time we ate filet mignon and blue cheese wrapped in puff pastry, we had an idea how to make it our own and a little more down-home. We…
I can get very excited about a big breakfast casserole. Who wouldn’t when the toast, eggs, ham, and cheese are all in one place? This recipe is my time-tested version…
These might sound best for a dainty tea party, but they are full of flavor. We like to use a combo of white, wheat, and rye bread for a colorful…
Jamie: Brooke and I saw this cake at a bakery in Savannah, and I thought it was so fabulous that Bobby and I worked with the recipe until we had…
Jamie: We grew up eating pot roast with potatoes. Now we try to limit white starches such as rice, potatoes, and bread (well, we attempt anyway). We love sweet potatoes…
The real citrus and fresh mint in this recipe are a refreshing surprise coming out of a picnic thermos. It does taste best ice-cold.
Bobby: Goulash was my favorite food growing up. Mama’s goulash has macaroni cooked right into it, and you can bet she doesn’t use lean beef. To this day Mama…
Slice this date- and nut-filled bread for potlucks, picnics, buffets, brunches, school lunches, office snacks—is there a single occasion when a slice of tender banana bread isn’t welcome? To…
Spectacularly Southern, this cobbler is easier than pie! You may want to have some vanilla ice cream on hand, particularly if you are serving this warm.
This pretty salad one-ups three-bean salad and improves as it sits. Use your favorite brand of bottled Italian salad dressing.
Jamie: Fresh corn is one of my favorite things to eat. I eat it raw out of the field, I eat it roasted, I like it boiled, I like it…
We usually use sweet canned peaches in these tender, buttery breakfast treats, which are a cross between a biscuit and a muffi n. But get your hands on some ripe…
You would be surprised how many ways you can use bottled Italian salad dressing — it is a great Southern shortcut. Here it creates an instant marinade that makes meat…
These tangy and sweet little shrimp need to pickle for a few days. Served with a cold beer, they make a great snack while you heat up the grill.
Perfect for parties because it’s great cold or at room temperature, this colorful salad is excellent with turkey or ham. And not that we’re superstitious or anything, but blackeyed peas…
We were in Houston, Texas, shooting an episode of Road Tasted when we first tasted a sausage-stuffed grilled turkey breast—it was something else. Being partial to pork, we took that…
Grilling gives a meaty, savory flavor to food—even vegetables. We like the way the sweetness of the pineapple contrasts with the smoky grill flavor. This unusual combination might just get…
We learned the recipe from Mama, and it’s a winner: The beer ensures that the meat comes out supermoist. We add a mayo rub to make skin nice and crisp.…
This is a summertime staple for us. It is easy to prepare in advance and goes great with whatever else you are grilling.
Bobby: I know of few fine meals that are as fast as grilled tuna steaks. Their only downfall is that they can get dry. Brief grilling and a pat of…
Bobby: I have a big mixer on my kitchen counter. Truth is I don’t bake all that often at home, but I don’t mind letting people think I do! These…
This chock-full lasagna satisfies vegetarians and is hearty enough to satisfy meat-and-potatoes types. We like to keep this dish on hand in the freezer; well wrapped it will keep for…
Bobby: My Caesar salad has a little bite to the dressing, and if you like you can add an anchovy or two. Even folks who claim not to like anchovies…
This salad combines spinach, which is so good for you, with bacon, which is just so darn good! When you pour the warm dressing over the spinach, it shrivels just…
Fruit salad is fine for purists, but we like to jazz it up with a deluxe, almost dessertlike topping. To tell the truth, we would probably put custard on all…
Jamie: I treated Brooke to a light breakfast in bed (see Berry Parfaits with Coconut Granola, page 61) one Mother’s Day. Then later when we were hungry again, I came…
Here we have the quintessential brunch dish, done up Georgia style with crabmeat and a hot sauce-spiked hollandaise. Poaching eggs can take some practice, so if you are new to…
The batter for these fluffy, skillet-cooked cornmeal cakes will keep in the refrigerator for up to two days. Make extra cakes to eat with syrup and butter at breakfast.
Sometimes Mama adds a cup of hot sauce (Texas Pete® is her favorite) to the eggs before dipping the chicken. Just be sure to skip the cayenne if you want…
Jamie’s favorite meal in the world is his wife’s meatloaf.
We love the intense, smoky flavor of chipotle peppers, which are actually dried and smoked jalapeños. Use more or less of the peppers depending on how sassy you like your…
Leslie also presents specialty soups in homemade bread bowls for an outstanding lunch. Our version is quicker to make and no less fun to serve.
If you’ve never made your own hummus, you’re in for a treat. The blender does all the work, and the results are creamy and delicious. This is a favorite snack…
Our coffee cake rivals Leslie’s original with a luscious cherry jam layer in the center.
Here’s our slightly simpler version of Bud’s fantastic pie (which you should mail-order if you love gooey chocolate chip cookies). Chocolate chip whipped cream is a pretty good substitute for…
Our Southern take on classic Italian-American stuffed bread features the great flavors of mozzarella, roasted peppers, and pesto, all sandwiched into a tangy sourdough loaf.
Bobby learned how to make these apples when he was a Boy Scout, and he’s making them ever since. Serve them with pork chops or roasted pork.
We love ribs so much we had to come up with a recipe that was easy enough - and delicious enough - to make every time we have a craving,…
These skewers make nice appetizers for a summer barbecue or potluck. You can also skip the grilling and serve them at room temperature.
Tequila and beer make these slushy, orange- and lime-flavored drinks pack a Texas-size punch. They’re just the thing on a blazing-hot summer night.
The folks at Volpi’s make a superbly simple roll-up of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and their amazing prosciutto, which they call rottola. It inspired us to see how we could…
This peanut butter and banana sandwich is so sticky and satisfying, it’s hard to imagine adding anything to it. But rumor has it Elvis used to tuck a few slices…
When we learned about the way they cook sausages in beer in the Midwest, we were inspired. We went right home and cooked up a pot ourselves.
We just love to put whole kernels in our corn bread. Here the sweet, golden little bites combine with piquant slices of jalapeno for a very exciting dish.
Our version of T-Cakes uses honey, lemon, and almonds baked into scrumptious little morsels. You won’t be able to eat just one.
We love fried fish sandwiches; these are inspired by the gorgeous halibut we saw in Seattle. If you plan on making this recipe in cold weather, turn on your kitchen…
Tennessee barbecue usually means pork: pork shoulder, ribs, or the whole hog. But where we come from, it means a great sauce, like this one, and good old chicken, the…
Making a big, fluffy white coconut cake takes us right back to our mama’s kitchen. We start this recipe with a box of cake mix so you have more time…
This recipe is like our favorite lemon meringue pie but with the extra-tart taste of lime in it. It comes together pretty quickly and makes a refreshing dessert for a…
We love to grill our fish outdoors. The combo of orange juice, ginger and hot sauce, inspired by the sunny flavors of Florida, makes this recipe sing. Group is a…
In addition to her coconut strips, Henrietta makes a key lime-orange marmalade that is out-of-this-world good. We realized all those flavors would be great with seafood, and this recipe was…
Cool, fruity smoothies are terrific for breakfast drinking, and we blend them up all the time. This one is pretty good with a splash of rum in it too, if…
As soon as we got home from New York, we put together what we learned at Veniero’s and developed this recipe. There’s no cannoli shell to fry, so it comes…
We developed our sandwich-making skills back in the Bag Lady days with Mama. This is one of our more recent favorites.
Dolma are stuffed grape leaves filled with rice and seasonings that you can buy at Mediterranean specialty markets in the deli section. They’re so hearty and tasty, they can turn…
After eating homemade doughnuts with Kyria’s gelato at Zozo’s, we came home with a hankering for more - so we we fried up some doughnuts like Mama always made, using…
If you like risotto as much as we do and you end up with leftovers, you can make these crispy fritters with risotto straight from the fridge. That’s how the…
We love all things pork, including thin-sliced Italian prosciutto. This recipe is our go-to lunch on a hot day.
Wherever there is fresh seafood, there is usually a great recipe for seafood stew. We came up with this simplified version of a cioppino after visiting Phil’s Fish Market. Add…
A good roast yard bird is so simple and delicious, you could make it for dinner every night. Sometimes we like to mix things up a bit, so we added…
Our recipe for those chewy chocolates is simple to make - and even simpler to eat. And yes, they do look a little like turtles, if you use your imagination!…
We love to serve these nibbles with a drink before dinner. The juicy grapes, salty cheese, and crunch walnuts are an addictive combination.
We love to make bars because they come together faster than cookies, and you can pack even more good stuff into them. Here we add a generous dose of good…
We love wings with a frosty mug of beer. Start these a day ahead so they have a real tangy lime and chile flavor.
We had so much fun covering the Levee-High Apple Pie with caramel and nuts that we adopted the approach to our own pie recipe, which we make on a slightly…
We serve this cheesy dipping sauce with pretzel sticks, but it’s also great on everything from broccoli to tortilla chips. We’ve even been known to just eat it with a…
We came up with these brownies spiked with espresso especially for grown-ups. They sure do make a person feel greedy.
We enrich our mac and cheese with sour cream for an extra tangy layer of flavor. And we have never had any complaints - or leftovers!
There’s only one reason to make whoopie pies miniature - so you can eat more of them. We love to take these cream-filled, cakey sandwiches along on picnics.
We like to serve this snack with wine or beer before a meal. They’re a little sweet, a little salty, and a lot addictive!
We love crab, artichokes, and quice, so it was only a matter of time until we combined the three. The result was so delicious, you might want to make a…
Our family finds it hard to choose what to do with ripe summer fruit. Do we make a cobbler or a pie? Cobbler is a little easier, so here’s the…
We decided to take French toast to new places, and this is what we came up with. It’s a recipe worth waking up for.
We put our own spin on crab cakes by adding corn and plenty of flavorful ingredients, including scallions and mustard. Then we top the crispy cakes with a savory, herby…
Although we had never eaten lobster stew before our trip to Maine, we’ve always loved Mama’s wonderful shrimp bisque.
These romantic, elegant-looking treats are simple to make. Serve them as part of a dessert buffet or even at a fancy brunch.
Tart blackberries are an unexpected complement to a great steak. We serve this recipe when we want to impress.
Our traditional boil, famous in the Low Country of Georgia and South Carolina, can be cooked indoors or out. The fun part is pouring it out on a picnic table…
Once we tasted how good authentic deep-dish pizza is, we knew we’d want to make our own so we could enjoy it again at home. And you can bet we…
The layers of chocolate in this pie are mind-boggling. We make it for dessert whenever we have chocoholics over. Remember to start making this the day before so the pie…
