Carrot

With their slightly caramelized flavor, roasted vegetables make a wonderful spread. Serve with pieces of toasted whole-grain pita rounds or baked tortilla chips.

I love using tiny potatoes and baby carrots, which makes this recipe insanely easy. That said, sometimes tiny potatoes cost a minor fortune. If that’s the case, save money by using larger boiling potatoes. You’ll have to spend time cutting them into cubes, but it might make sense. You don’t have to use the nonstick foil here if you have a really good nonstick roasting pan, but it makes cleanup almost nonexistent, so I swear by it.

Pat: In Memphis, barbecued meats are ordered either “dry” or “wet. “Dry” meats are coated with a dry spice rub before they’re cooked, and often sprinkled with those seasonings when they come off the grill. “Wet” meats are slathered with barbecue sauce. Folks who crave a double dose of flavor, like me, order foods “wet and dry,” meaning that the meat is sprinkled with dry rub before being cooked, then slathered with sauce afterward. This Memphis pit tradition has found its way into the repertoire of home cooks as well. The application of a dry rub works for meats cooked on the grill or, as our mothers are fond of doing, in the oven. In this recipe, we douse our chicken with a dry rub and then bake it in barbecue sauce. The result is moist, flavorful, falling-off-the-bone tender chicken. We serve this saucy chicken with steamed rice or hot buttered rolls to soak up all the tomatoey goodness, and the accompanying vegetables on the side. It’s no wonder the Neely boys became so good with the grill when Momma was feeding us dishes like this from her kitchen oven.

Pat: There is nothing like the smell of a pot roast cooking in the oven. My mother made a mean pot roast; her secret was using dried Italian seasoning on the meat, and it’s a technique I’ve incorporated into this recipe. The flavors of the dressing really permeate and tenderize the roast. A well-seasoned cast-iron Dutch oven (or an enamel-coated Dutch oven) is our favorite cooking vessel for this roast. Here we call for a boneless chuck roast, because the well-marbled cut keeps plenty moist, but you can also use a 4- to 6-pound bone-in roast (you’ll need to cook it for another 45 minutes). Gina: Ladies, this is also a great dish to make when your schedule is tight. You can sear the meat, then throw it and the remaining ingredients into a slow cooker and head off to work. Make some cornbread when you get home, and it’s a wrap.

Gina: Ladies! The things we go through to please our men! You should be fully aware that Aunt Faye is Pat’s favorite aunt, so you know I had to get this recipe down right. Pat: My dear and favorite aunt, Faye, is my late father’s oldest sister. She lives in Chicago, and for a while, when we were children, we lived there, too. During those years, Aunt Faye would cook us chicken and dumplings. Needless to say, it became one of my favorite dishes (and the fact that my favorite aunt was preparing it made it all the better!).

Gina: This simple, beautiful braise of sweet root vegetables and shallots is a perfect complement to any roasted meat (a Thanksgiving turkey, Cornish hens, and pot roast come to mind). For the deepest, richest flavor, be sure to get a good brown color on the vegetables before adding them to the chicken stock. We finish the dish with sage and parsley, but any number of fresh herbs will do the trick, including rosemary, thyme, or oregano.

Gina: This simple, satisfying braise is another Neely staple. After a bit of knife work in the beginning, most of the cooking is unattended, and I love the aroma of bacon and cabbage while I set the table or simply hang with a glass of wine and my girls. Baby carrots add a contemporary twist to this otherwise old-fashioned dish, and they’re a nice color accent for the cabbage. Homemade Smash Seasoning and fresh parsley have the effect of punching up the flavors.

Pat: My brothers and I have always been good eaters. As you can imagine, this meant a lot of work for our momma—feeding five hungry boys was no easy task. We all played football, and would come home after practice absolutely ravenous, ready to eat everything in the house. Lucky for us, she specialized in hearty dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, pot roast—and this rich stew. Packed with vegetables, tender beef, and a savory broth, it managed to satisfy my brothers and me . . . at least for a few hours. When the first fall chill sets in, I find myself drawn back to Momma’s cooking, so this stew remains a Neely staple (these days, however, we make it with more red wine). It’s a great weekend recipe, when you’ve planned a day of projects around the house, because it requires only a bit of up-front work—then you get to enjoy the intoxicating smell of the stew as it simmers. Although I live in a home with three girls, don’t be fooled: They hold their own when it comes to projects and this stew (they can polish off plenty of both). As Gina says, “Everyone has an inner pig that needs to be set free once in a while.”

Gina: Every once in a while, my girls and I get on a little veggie kick, and they convince me to take a break from meat (amazing what a cheerleader uniform—theirs, not mine, hon—can do to you). This hearty, spicy chili is so satisfying that even Pat—my steak-and-potatoes man—loves it. The secret ingredient, bulgur (also called cracked wheat), thickens the stew when cooked and helps create a “meaty” texture. The addition of canned fire-roasted tomatoes and an unusual mix of spices gives this chili an exotic aroma and plenty of depth. More often than not, this chili is a family affair—Spenser and Shelbi help me cut up all the colorful vegetables and tell me about their respective days, while Pat makes the cornbread that goes so well with the stew, sets the table, and privately mourns the meat that he will not be having for dinner!

Pat: Creamy, smoky white beans, simmered with some kind of pork fat, are a Southern staple, especially when served with a wedge of warm cornbread. This white-bean soup is finished with kale, a nourishing green that’s packed with vitamins A and C (the leaves are so pretty that Gina uses the green and purple varieties to decorate her party trays). Smoked sausage makes a great addition to this soup, and what we do then is leave out the bacon and add 1/2 pound of sliced smoked sausage instead. (You’ve heard the expression “an eye for an eye” in Memphis we say “a pig for a pig.”)

Pat: When Gina and I are on a fitness kick and determined to lose a few pounds, I love having healthy, vibrant vegetable soups on hand. The soups help us fight the flab without sacrificing taste. And they fill us up, too! We often serve soup as a nourishing lunch or first course, and this carrot soup is one of my favorites. It has a velvety texture and an orange color that pops, and it includes a secret ingredient (sweet potato) and warm spices like cumin, coriander, and cayenne to give it depth and an irresistible aroma. Puréeing this soup in a blender instead of a food processor makes it especially silky. It’s great hot, but it’s also good chilled, topped with a swirl of plain yogurt or sour cream, during our sultry Memphis summers.

Pat: This is our kind of tomato soup—it has plenty of attitude! A double dose of heat (crushed red-pepper flakes and chipotle-pepper purée) gives it a smoky undertone; a garnish of avocado relish balances the flavors and provides an appealing texture. This soup is delicious with hot cornbread or grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches.

Gina: We’ve taken a few memorable family vacations to the Gulf Coast of Florida, which is a great place to indulge our passion for the beach and fresh shrimp. These pickled shrimp are perfect for entertaining, because they are actually best made a day in advance. They’re delicious on their own, or eaten with buttered slices of French bread.

Texture is a very important part of the gustatory pleasures of tripe. Tripe should be soft and yet resilient; you do not want it mushy. In this recipe, as I do when making many long-simmered sauces, I keep a pot of hot water near the tripe as it simmers. From time to time, I check the tripe, ladling in water if the sauce has cooked down and some of the tripe isn’t covered. At the end of cooking, there should be enough sauce so the tripe is nice and juicy but not watery.

Sprinkling the onions with salt as they cook not only seasons them, but extracts some of the water and intensifies their flavor. Keep the water hot before adding it to the soup, as described below, and you won’t interrupt the cooking—it will flow smoothly from start to end. Remember this when braising meats like the short ribs on page 218, or when making risotto. You can use the method outlined below—bringing the beans to a boil, then soaking them in hot water for an hour—anytime you want to cook beans without soaking them overnight, or anytime you’ve forgotten to soak them a day in advance. It works especially well here because, by soaking the pork along with the beans, you kill two birds with one stone. (I soak the dried or cured pork to remove some of the intense curing-and-smoking flavor. If you like it intense, just rinse the pork under cold water before adding it to the soup.)