The Lee Brothers

(Image courtesy of www.mattleeandtedlee.com)

I've been cooking up a storm out of The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook. This huge tome is the Southern food bible I've been looking for - I haven't yet purchased their new book, but have read rave reviews. It's a bit difficult to wade through and at times, can feel overwhelming. But when you're looking for a specific classic or trying to find inspiration - it's all in this book. In fact, Barnes and Noble only had one copy left - the cover was torn - but I couldn't resist. One of my favorite things is how they'll outline or simplify a recipe, depending on the day of the week. There's Sunday Gumbo and there's Tuesday Gumbo - the major difference being the time spent on each.

On Friday night, we had the chicken and shrimp jambalaya. It was filling, soupy and weighted with flavor. I made a couple of substitutions to the recipe, but mostly tried to follow it as closely as possible. The recipe yields an enormous amount - we each had 2 bowls on Friday and then a quick bowl each on Saturday night, but much still remains in the pot. It could easily feed a crowd of 10 people. My husband put it accurately: "It gets better and better the closer you get to the bottom of the bowl." With the jambalaya (the Tuesday version) we had collard greens and for dessert, vanilla roasted pears with frozen yogurt. A perfect Friday night dinner for a busy week.

Last night, we finished off the vanilla roasted pears and began our evening with tortellini soup. It was nourishing and the perfect detox soup, as I've written before. I couldn't resist serving the Lee Brothers' pimento cheese spread with fresh baguette slices. Pimento cheese is a weakness of mine and the creamy, salty mixture was delicious. The full recipe serves 12 - but I think you could make much more for a group that size. Although realistically, most people won't spread as much on their baguette slices as I do. Instead of fresh baguette, this spread would be terrific on rice crackers.

Pimento Cheese
Adapted from The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook
Serves 12

1 roasted red pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and room temperature
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt/pepper to taste
1 baguette loaf or rice crackers

1. Dry and de-seed the roasted red pepper (I used jarred but you could roast your own). Finely chop.
2. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, cream cheese, cheddar and pepper flakes with a large spoon or spatula. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Gently fold in the chopped red pepper and serve with baguette slices or rice crackers.