Side

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.

Gina: Pat and I are huge fans of grilled corn on the cob, but once the girls started wearing braces (!) we had to figure out a better—easier to eat—alternative, for obvious reasons. Shucked corn in cream did the trick. After a while, the girls became accustomed to having corn served in this decadent manner, and pretty soon there was no turning back. Thus, another Neely staple was born. I think the sweetness that this method coaxes from the fresh corn makes all the difference in the world, and I know Pat agrees. When my husband serves us this dish, he always says, “Some sweet for my sweets.”

Pat: Few flavor combinations sing “summertime in the South” more than okra and tomatoes. Some people find okra intimidating to cook, but it’s really very simple. If okra is cooked for too long over too low a heat, it can turn slimy and limp. The secret is first searing the okra over a very high heat, then finishing it for a few minutes in the piquant tomato sauce. This method prevents the okra from getting gooey (frying okra does the same thing). Okra and tomatoes are great alongside fried fish, or any roasted or grilled meat, and they also pair well over a creamy starch like grits or spoonbread.

Gina: Some Southern greens benefit from long, slow cooking, but kale is best prepared as a speedy sauté. Shredding the kale allows it to cook even faster, keeping its bright color and abundant nutrients (calcium, vitamins A and C) intact. Adding bacon, onion, and the unexpected flavor of smoked Spanish paprika creates a spectacular side dish that just might steal the show from the main course. For a quick, satisfying dinner, you could also toss this sauté with whole-wheat pasta, and finish the dish with toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.

A pesto-like dressing made from walnuts, garlic, and plenty of fragrant basil gives fresh, tender green beans a vibrant flavor. This simple, satisfying salad is delicious alongside grilled burgers, roasted chicken, or pan-seared fish.

Gina: Wow, life sure has a way of kicking you in the stomach when you least expect it. Ladies, I am sure you will understand what I’m talking about. You know that person who’s been in your life all along and you’ve never really seen him? That’s how it was with Pat and me. His mom and my mom went to school together, his brothers and my sisters were classmates, and, yes, you guessed it, we went to the same high school. . . . Sometimes the best things in life are right in front of you (if you keep your eyes open). That’s how I feel about my mom’s potato salad. She always made it for us when we were kids, but I didn’t truly appreciate it until I moved away. What is it they say about absence and the heart? That’s when I knew I had to master this recipe on my own. The first time I prepared it for Pat, he recognized that this was one apple that hadn’t fallen far from the tree. This potato salad remains a standout at all of our big family gatherings. Even if Mom can’t make it to an event, her potato salad will always be there! I think the creamy red potatoes, sweet-pickle relish, and sharp yellow mustard give this salad a distinct flavor and an appetizing color. Pat loves the richness that the big chunks of hard-boiled egg provide (and the way a little sugar brings out the flavors of the other ingredients).

When we fire up the grill to entertain, this side dish is always a big hit with our guests. Now, a lot of people grill corn on the cob for sure, but one thing our friends don’t expect is for Mr. and Mrs. Barbecue to transform it into a salad (we love to surprise folks). The grilled corn imparts a wonderful smoky flavor to this salad, and the red pepper and scallions add great color and crunch. The fresh lime juice and honey create a sweet tart dressing. This is a salad that can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, which is great for people on the go (like us)! And you may want to consider grilled sweet corn alongside most any grilled meat including chicken, steak, or pork chops. It’s the perfect accompaniment.

Gina: My friends call me the collard-green queen—I love to cook them up any and every way imaginable. So it was only a matter of time before I decided to replace spinach with collards in the classic artichoke dip. Ohmigoodness, the results were even better than I anticipated. If you want to surprise your friends with something delicious and unexpected, this is the appetizer to prepare. You can buy baked pita chips to serve with this dip, but they’re so fun and easy to make that you might just want to do it yourself (which also gives you a little more control over the amount of salt and oil used). This dip goes well with salsa and sour cream on the side.

Pat: When we were growing up, deviled eggs were a staple at any celebration, like a Fourth of July picnic or Easter Sunday brunch, and at family feasts at Momma’s, alongside fried chicken, pork roast, green beans, and creamed corn. In my mind, deviled eggs are an appetizer or a snack, something you grab when you’re passing through the kitchen or hanging out by the picnic table. But every once in a while, Momma served deviled eggs with tuna fish and crackers for a light Sunday dinner, proving that they can work as a meal just fine. This is our spin on a great Southern tradition (one of the many joys of cooking is infusing a recipe with your own personality). The sweet, tangy flavor of barbecue sauce blends surprisingly well with rich, creamy egg yolks. Topped with thinly sliced scallions, these eggs are perfect for a picnic, a backyard party, a down-home brunch buffet, or a light Sunday dinner (thanks, Momma). Gina: I wonder what the grandmothers would say about our adding barbecue sauce?

Pat: A cast iron skillet is, far and away, the best pan for cooking this cornbread. In fact, we don’t prepare it in anything else. Preheating the skillet in the oven creates a crispy golden crust, and it really seems to help the batter pop up and rise beautifully during the baking process. We serve the warm cornbread straight from the skillet with a big ole wooden spoon.

Gina: In the South, rice is an essential partner for roast pork or chicken, or anything with a tomatoey sauce or gravy, but even down here, folks sometimes find themselves a little intimidated by the process of making it. If you are the least bit nervous about cooking rice, look no further than our recipe. It delivers foolproof results every time, cooking up fragrant, fluffy rice infused with aromatics (shallots, garlic, and a few fresh herbs).

You know how I feel about wasting food; everything in my kitchen gets used, even old bread. I’d like you to try this dish, so, even if you don’t find yourself with a leftover loaf of bread, buy a fresh one and let it dry overnight. Think of this side dish as a bread lasagna and serve it as a contorno to fish or meat. For a different and delicious brunch dish, top each serving with a poached or fried egg.

This is the side dish to make when you find yourself with leftover mashed potatoes. (If you are using leftover mashed potatoes, use your judgment about the ingredients you want to add, since the mashed potatoes may be flavored already.) It also makes a wonderful dish for entertaining—everyone loves them, and you can keep them warm in an oven up to 30 minutes after you make them.

Try this salad as it was made traditionally, without vinegar. If you feel the capers don’t supply the necessary zing, sprinkle a little wine vinegar over the salad and toss it again. Warm salads like this take the chill out of a cold-cut lunch and go very well alongside grilled fish, chicken, or sausages.

I love the flavors of spinach and chives in these timbales when served with the Scampi on page 287. Vary the herbs and greens, or include other members of the onion family—sautéed leeks or onions, for example—if you are serving the timbales alongside other dishes. You can make the timbales up to a couple of hours in advance and leave them at room temperature, but try to avoid refrigerating them. That will change the flavor, and not for the better.

Thermometers—whether the instant-reading type used for meat, the large-dial models used to measure the temperature of oil for frying, or those used to test an oven’s temperature—are key tools to have in the kitchen. Why twice-fried potatoes? The first cooking, at a lower temperature, cooks the potato fully, and the second frying, at a higher temperature, makes a delicious crunchy crust. This comes in handy if you want to make the dish for company—the first frying can be done several hours in advance, and the second cooking takes only 5 minutes or so.