Snack

“Devils on Horseback” are an old Southern favorite, and it’s hard to believe how so much flavor can be packed into one little bite. We like to make a double batch whenever we’re having a family party; they fly off the plate so fast we can barely keep up! Luckily, they’re just as easy to make as they are to eat. There are several variations that are fun to try: for example, try substituting Parmesan for the blue cheese, or dates for the prunes.

PAT Gina introduced me to drunken goat cheese, and if you haven’t had it, you haven’t had cheese. (You can find it at Whole Foods and other fine food stores.) Drunken goat is semifirm and cured in red wine, so it has a maroon-colored skin. Flavorful and smooth, it goes great on a ripe-tomato sandwich. If you don’t have softened butter at the ready, a good shortcut is to spread plain mayonnaise on the outsides of the sandwiches instead. They’ll fry up just as crisp and golden as they will with butter.

PAT This being Happy Hour, we’ve gotta have crab-stuffed mushrooms. And any time I can get Gina to eat mushrooms with me, I do! (Guys, let me tell you, I’ve been told mushrooms are an aphrodisiac, so when the guests leave it might be time for your Happy Hour!)

PAT If you’re going to eat popcorn, eat it Memphis-style. In Memphis, everything is about the marriage of smoke, pepper, and barbecue, and we love adding those elements to every dish we can (including popcorn). Our version features smoked paprika, garlic powder, sugar, and cayenne pepper, and is unlike any popcorn you’ve ever had. If some of your guests prefer popcorn with less “pop,” eliminate the cayenne. If some prefer more “pop,” you can sprinkle your favorite hot sauce over their batch. Either way, they’ll be back for more.

GINA My attraction to mangoes was confirmed on a trip Pat and I took to Mexico. The velvety fruit tastes like an exotic mix of pineapples and peaches, and the flavor just explodes in your mouth. In creating this salsa, I stuck with Mexican tradition and added fresh cilantro, which you can chop or tear apart. Cilantro also offers a health benefit by soothing the digestive system. So, little do the guys know, I’m taking care of their stomachs as well as their appetite! (Ladies, y’all can thank me later.) Mind you, I was a little skeptical about whether they’d go for it, so I deep-fried the tortilla chips, so they’d have something familiar to dip.

PAT In our house there’s always some barbecue going on (even if we’re not grilling, we’re adding the spice). These chips are dusted with paprika, garlic, sugar, and salt, and once they’re out of the fryer, they quickly disappear (so make two batches!).

GINA For some reason, there are always potatoes in the pantry. So pull them out and make some potato skins! Grilling them gives them a nice spin, and since we are the first family of barbecue, these skins are complemented by barbecue sauce, pulled pork, and bacon. And you guys all know how I feel about the pig . . . so I like to call these the “double pig.” They also make a nice pick-me-up when you’re entertaining, so, to make them more like appetizers, you can slice them in quarters, arrange on a platter, and sprinkle with green onions. Trust me, these will be eaten so fast they’ll be history. PAT That’s right, pig layered on pig, y’all! Having potato skins, and adding two types of pork—bacon and pulled pork—truly puts a guy (that’s me, Pat!) in hog heaven. For you non–pig lovers (surely only a few of you), you can always substitute turkey bacon, chicken, or even beef brisket for the bacon and pulled pork.

PAT Gina’s told me before, “If you like the kickoff, then you’re going to love these poppers!” They have the perfect amount of kick to them. Between the smokiness of the paprika and the heat of the cayenne pepper, take one bite and the game is on! We remove the jalapeño seeds so that the poppers aren’t too hot, but leave them in if you like really spicy. After all, I am a hot man, and I mean that both palate-wise and physical-wise (and, as you can tell, I’m very, very humble). Jalapeños are a vegetable that you can get seriously creative with: filling them up with cheese, using buttermilk in a batter, and deep-frying these little puppies makes one of the best appetizers you can imagine.

I love how Italians use nuts in desserts, from almond cake to pine nut tarts. Here, those same pine nuts transform the humble cookie into something truly special. Crumbly, yes, but not too sweet—just delicate and fabulous. For a variation, try filling the thumbprints with homemade jam. Rhubarb would be delicious, making each cookie taste a little like PB&J.

If you have a mom or grandmother who baked when you were a kid, this not-too-sweet dessert should ring the bells of nostalgia for you. A cookie designed to emulate those cinnamon-and-sugared scraps of leftover pie dough, these pretty pinwheels can cozy up quite happily to a cup of tea, or would make a welcome finishing touch to an evening espresso.

The only way to improve upon a fried artichoke is to shower it with fried-garlic breadcrumbs, making a hands-on dish a little bit messier and a lot tastier. This is a great little antipasto, excellent with a light white wine or served with cold beer for a ballgame snack that ranks more than a few steps above nachos. Eat the larger leaves just as you would if you had a bowl of melted butter sitting right there, scraping the leaves against your teeth. The tender stems and inner leaves can be eaten whole.

Puffed and crackled exteriors make these chewy, intensely spiced cookies as pretty as they are delicious. I got the idea to add coffee to the dough because of how beautifully the flavors of ginger and molasses come together with bitter, smoky coffee. Serve with iced coffee to double the effect.

The unexpected crunch of cornmeal gives this version of classic thumb-print cookies a distinctly Southern accent. When making these jam-filled cookies, try using several different jams and preserves, such as blackberry, raspberry, and Brandied Figs (page 301).

This dish—an adaptation of an Anne Willan recipe I used to make at the Soho Charcuterie—is what my dad most often requested when I came home to visit. Rillettes are a classic French preparation similar to pâté that are made by slow-cooking fatty meat until it falls apart, packing the meat in the rendered fat, and allowing it to congeal. The resulting rough spread pairs elegantly with Rosemary Cheese Crackers (page 8) or Cornbread Toasts (page 18), grainy mustard, and pickles. The most important thing to keep in mind is that rillettes need to cook very slowly at a low, steady temperature, so make sure the cooking liquid doesn’t boil once you put the dish in the oven.

Cornbread sticks are a Southern specialty and an example of function following form. I imagine that whoever dreamed them up was probably just trying to be cute by fashioning a corn-shaped mold for cornbread, but the end product, with its high ratio of crispy crust to soft innards and perfect shape for dipping in chili or pot likker, is a whole different animal. In this version, I kick things up a notch by adding sharp Cheddar cheese and spicy jalapeño pepper. If you don’t have (or care to purchase) a corn stick pan—cast-iron only—you can, of course, use a skillet.

A nice splash of brandy adds depth of flavor to this creamy pâté, which is just right served on crostini, toast points (see Know-how, page 19), or Cornbread Toasts (page 18) topped with Sweet Pickle Relish (page 299). For the best results, start with fresh livers from the butcher or farmer’s market that haven’t been frozen. Note that the chicken livers must soak in buttermilk for several hours prior to cooking.

Whether spread on saltines, white bread, or “celery boats,” tangy, creamy Pimiento Cheese is seriously habit-forming. A simple mix of mayonnaise or cream cheese, shredded Cheddar, and jarred red peppers, Pimiento Cheese is one of those unassuming Southern classics that can sometimes be a hard sell for people who didn’t grow up on it. But when it’s made right, it’s easy to see why Southerners are so passionate about it. Try it—it may just become your new obsession. Shake it up with a WENDY’S BLOODY MARY (see page 28)

Like many Southerners, I have a fig tree—huge, old, gnarled, and prized—that bears bucketfuls of plump, grassy-sweet figs each summer. So sweet, in fact, that they draw not only the usual birds and squirrels, but also a certain stealthy neighbor who must surely keep as close a watch on the fruits’ ripening as we do. Shake it up with a SAZERAC (see page 28)

Think of fresh deviled ham as pork’s answer to chicken salad. Creamy and savory, it makes a great dip for crackers or crostini. For a light lunch, try scooping it into cups of butter lettuce with sliced tomatoes.