The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor [Hardcover]

Matt Lee (Author), Ted Lee (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 3, 2009

From two South Carolina-bred brothers comes the ground-breaking cookbook for new Southern cooking: The Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh, Southern. Matt and Ted Lee were raised on long-simmered greens, slow-smoked meats, and deep-fried everything. But after years of traveling as journalists and with farm fresh foods more available than ever, Matt and Ted have combined the old with the new, infusing family recipes with bright flavors. Using crisp produce, lighter cooking methods, and surprising combinations, these are recipes to make any night of the week.


From the Hardcover edition.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Description
From two South Carolina-bred brothers comes the ground-breaking cookbook for new Southern cooking: The Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh, Southern. Matt and Ted Lee were raised on long-simmered greens, slow-smoked meats, and deep-fried everything. But after years of traveling as journalists and with farm fresh foods more available than ever, Matt and Ted have combined the old with the new, infusing family recipes with bright flavors. Using crisp produce, lighter cooking methods, and surprising combinations, these are recipes to make any night of the week.

---

From The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Ginger Lemonade

If we were musicians, we’d write a torch song about ginger and lemon, a match made in heaven. And though we’ve been drinking fresh lemonade as long as we can remember (Coca-Cola was taboo at 83 East Bay Street), we never thought to make a cold fresh-ginger lemonade until recently. Now we’re making up for lost time. This drink is easy to make, super-refreshing, and happens to be a kick-ass mixer with bourbon and tequila, so those of you who are of age should mix up the Lemon Gingerita variation that follows.--Matt Lee and Ted Lee

Ingredients

• 2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin disks (1/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup honey, or more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons)

(Serves 8)

Directions

1. Put the ginger in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring 2 cups cold water to a boil, then pour it into the bowl and stir to agitate the ginger. Slowly pour in the honey, stirring until it’s dissolved in the concentrate. Add the salt, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes.

2. Strain the concentrate into a large pitcher (it will keep for 5 days, covered, in the refrigerator), reserving the ginger slices. Add 3 cups cold water and the lemon juice to the pitcher, and sweeten to taste with honey. Set the pitcher in the refrigerator to cool further; store the ginger slices in the refrigerator as well. (The lemonade and ginger slices will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.)

3. Fill each highball or pint glass two-thirds of the way to the rim with ice, and pour the ginger lemonade over it. Garnish with a slice of the steeped ginger.

Time: 10 minutes steeping, 5 minutes preparation

Lemon Gingerita

With a fine Microplane grater, zest one of the lemons you’ll squeeze to make the Ginger Lemonade onto a plate; from another lemon, cut as many thumbnail-size pieces of lemon peel as the number of margaritas you plan to make. Prepare the ginger lemonade, and when it’s ready to serve, for each margarita, take a piece of the lemon peel and rub it around the rim of the glass. Dip the rim in the grated lemon zest (it’s okay if the lemon-zest rim is patchy; lemon zest is intense), fill the glass with ice, and top with 3 ounces Ginger Lemonade and 1 ounce silver tequila. Stir, and garnish with a slice of lemon peel and a slice of the steeped ginger.

From Publishers Weekly

The Lee brothers' second cookbook builds on the success of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by applying the principles of the current fashion for simplicity and speed in the kitchen to the revered down-home flavors of the South, which normally require far more extended cooking times and special ingredients. Readers who are nostalgic for the food of the South or have acquired a taste for it, but lack the time to recreate old-fashioned dishes, will be eager to try the brothers' new takes on old classics like chicken and dumplings, shrimp cocktail and ambrosia, which cut down on some of the usual preparation time without sacrificing flavor. They manage this partly through their judicious use of less traditional ingredients, such as curry powder in potato salad or chorizo in collard greens and partly through their emphasis on using top-notch fresh, in-season ingredients. Though the brothers got their start with a catalogue selling Southern pantry staples that are unusual elsewhere, these recipes rarely call for items that are not available in any well-stocked supermarket. The recipes are easy to follow and engagingly written, dotted with amusing anecdotes and historical asides that make the book a breezy read. Detailed shopping, preparation and garnishing notes throughout help ensure cooks' success following the Lee brothers in bringing Southern cooking into the 21st century. (Nov.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; First Edition edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307453596
• ISBN-13: 978-0307453594
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 0.8 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ain't No Paula Deen... March 17, 2010

By NaturalHorseman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I got this cookbook for my birthday in January (I had it in my Amazon wish list) but I didn't cook out of it until I went to visit family in Naples, FL. Made the Shrimp Creole with fresh Gulf shrimp over corn grits and the green beans with orange segments. Dynamite. Very fresh, very "healthy" style with B I G flavor, and especially good with Southeast ingredients. While here I got a chance to read the cookbook section on vegetables and side dishes and I found lots of things that will work for me on the South Beach Diet. I'm going to search out their first cookbook as well.

This is "Southern Cooking" with all the GOOD parts - the fresh seafood and vegetables in particular - without the overhead of huge amounts of fat and sugar. Don't let the "Southern" let you evoke Paula Deen's definition of Southern cooking and put you off...

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! December 6, 2009

By J. Milligan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I made the pork tenderloin with maderia and fig gravy for dinner and discovered a new masterpiece for my receipe repretoire! This is a fabulously flavorful dish that is easy to prepare and cooks to perfection. I am looking forward to the sweet potato and okra fritters as my next experience! There are many great and simple receipes in this book and I do highly recommend it!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all! January 4, 2010

By J. Schneider

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my boyfriend's dad for Christmas, and had the pleasure of sampling two of the recipes: Oyster soup and collards with poblanos and chorizo. The recipes were simple, fast and absolutely delicious. He also had rave reviews about the simple roasted chicken.

The thing that caught my eye about this book were the beautiful pictures and the simplicity of the recipes. I like the lifestyle that the book promotes---it's that easy, laid-back, southern attitude that brings simple ingredients together to create something that explodes with flavor in your mouth and makes you say: "Why didn't I think of doing it that way?"

I hope to sample many more of the recipes, and look forward to seeing future cookbooks by the Lee brothers.