Vegan

The little zing of this crunchy mustard slaw is just the right thing to round off the kick of cayenne in the catfish and the bite of cheddar in the hush puppies.

This “house wine of the South” is literally drunk by the gallon during the spring and summer months here in Memphis. We add mint and simple syrup to ours, to give it the right amount of flavor and sweetness. It’s a refreshing “knock-back,” and can also be used as a mix for a cocktail (add a little rum or vodka).

Remember to start with fresh spices for that sweet, savory, and spicy balance.

PAT Gina loves the daintiness of these “baby reds,” and the garlic, rosemary, and olive oil pop on your palate. But Spenser and Shelbi inherited their need for some potatoes with most meals from their daddy. We love us some taters.

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.

This great staple forms the basis for other delicious dishes, including the Mediterranean Mussel and Chickpea Soup with Fennel and Lemon (page 44), and can be used in salads and purées. The simple preparation will win you over to ditching the can and cooking your own, allowing you to fully appreciate the delicate nuttiness and incomparable texture.

You can customize these crumbs with lemon zest, oregano, parsley, or other herbs. Simply reprocess the crumbs with the herbs after you have finished the basic recipe. They have a thousand uses, and are excellent as a topping for oysters, artichokes, pastas, and more.

The delicate, herbaceous quality of preserved garlic adds a bit of bite where raw garlic would be too harsh and overwhelm more subtle flavors, such as the lobster mushroom recipe on page 119. Make sure you use a peeler to zest the lemon. Using a grater or Microplane would release too many oils and create too strong a flavor. As a bonus, use the oil in vinaigrettes or drizzle on grilled fish.

If you master any one recipe in this book, this should be it. Not only does a bright, fresh tomato sauce turn any freshly made pasta into an event, but it’s also an indispensable component in dishes from basic ragus to Maloreddus with Squid, Tomato Sauce, and Lemon (page 97) and Linguine with Shrimp (page 90). Part of the fun of making your own sauce is squishing the whole tomatoes—and they must be San Marzanos—with your fingers. It can get messy, especially for those of us who wear glasses, but it’s worth it (and a good stress-reduction technique, to boot). Find an apron and get ready for a simple, well-balanced sauce that you’ll always want to have on hand. And when you can have this sauce ready in under an hour, why ever open a jar again?

Swiss chard, with fleshy stems that offer nice texture, has a milder flavor than other greens such as rapini or mustard. I highlight its sweetness with golden raisins and white wine, then add pine nuts for richness and some crunch. Be sure to dry the chard carefully before sautéing, because it gives off a lot of liquid.

I have to say that this is one of my all-time favorite salads, my variation of an Alice Waters recipe I came across years ago, and I’ve always loved the simplicity and the flavor. Shave the mushrooms immediately prior to serving, so that they release their aromas. It’s so intoxicating that you’d think they were pheromones. This salad is actually pretty sexy.