Fruit

GINA There’s something about the smell and taste of fresh lemon that livens a dish right up. I remember my great-great-grandmother always rolled lemons on the counter before slicing them, to get the full flavor and extract all the juices, so I do it, too. I’m having a moment just thinking about watching her. Lemon squares are easy to prepare, and give you an Old South flavor that takes you right back in time. And the confectioners’ sugar at the end doesn’t hurt one bit.

PAT Broccoli, broccoli, broccoli! We love this simple vegetable. Nothing is easier than blanching broccoli, and once this delicious dressing—a little sweet, a little savory, a little sour, and a little spicy—is added, the transportable dish becomes super-duper. As Gina always says, “A great dressing is like a great handbag and shoes. It makes the whole outfit look (taste) perfect.”

GINA You can’t celebrate the Fourth without watermelon. In Memphis, you’ll see trucks on the side of the road selling the ripest, juiciest, and sweetest watermelons in the country. And if you watch our show, y’all already know I loves me some watermelon. I can eat it every day in the summertime: it is so refreshing—but, more important, it’s a natural sweet, and you know we women are always trying to watch our figures. (I have watched mine walk right out the door and look back at me and say, “Bye, girl!” as it left.) I mention this so you know I do try to keep a lookout for those things that are just plain good for me. . . . So you take my favorite fruit and add in some fresh limeade (summertime in a glass), vodka, and mint simple syrup (OMG), and, baby, you can cross your legs and let ’em swing, because that’s a wrap!

PAT I have a confession—when I was a kid, I would jump my grandmother’s neighbor’s fence and pluck peaches from Mr. Johnson’s trees. I figured that there were so many of those little darlings hanging from Mr. Johnson’s trees he surely wouldn’t miss a few. Looking back on it, you could say those peaches helped me develop an appreciation for the simple pleasures life has to offer. Over the years, we’ve grown fond of grilling sweet fruit. (Yes, we do “grill everything.”) When you add the smoky flavor from the grill to the sweetness of the apricots and peaches, well, you are talking about a different kind of dessert from the shortcake you’re used to. Ours also calls for biscuits (talk about a Neely spin on things!). And the turbinado sugar is just a fancy name for sugar in the raw . . . like me!

PAT When hosting on a day as important to everybody as the Fourth of July, you’ve got to have some chicken on the menu for the non–pork eaters. (We will never understand how you could be a non–porker, but that’s for another book.) GINA I’ve always loved drumsticks for their juicy dark meat, and the way they would fit so neatly in my hand when my sister Kim used to fry them for me. Now Shelbi loves drumsticks, too! The combination of honey, orange, and ancho-chile powder, with just the right amount of heat, and the smoke of a grill—baby, these drumsticks are so good they’ll make you want to smack your mama or the cook (although I wouldn’t recommend it!). Allowing the drumsticks to marinate overnight, and then “mopping” on the glaze at the end, will ensure your guests’ memberships in the clean-plate club.

PAT I guess you could say I developed a love of ice cream because of my grandmother. For her, only homemade would do, and her homemade was some of the very best. Her fresh strawberry ice cream was one of my favorites. It so happens that Father’s Day falls smack in the middle of strawberry season—and don’t you know it, Grandma, I’m taking a page from your playbook. There’s something about fresh strawberries and cream, and when you spoon out a mouthful of this ice cream, you’ll see what I mean. The best thing about this recipe is that you can make more and have some for the day after Father’s Day. The sweetened condensed milk makes this a creamy, very soft, and scoopable ice cream.

Ladies, this is my go-to drink on a warm summer day. And don’t you know, men love it, too (even though it’s pink!). It’ll satisfy any thirst you may have worked up, but go easy, because even though it may taste like Hawaiian punch, it packs a wallop!

PAT Oh, how we love grilled pineapple—and everyone loves grilled shrimp. And as Gina says, “Let’s keep it pretty,” so we skewer these two favorites together. Always remember to soak your skewers in cold water so they don’t catch fire on the grill. A brush of the syrupy glaze at the end will have your guests licking their sticks.

Memphis in May kicks off the barbecue season, but it also kicks off the summer season, so blueberry pie fits right in. We like to take this pie down to the river for the Sunset Symphony and slice it up for our neighbors among the picnic blankets.

The peach nectar, lemonade, and sparkling wine—ooh, it just makes me tingle all over! And believe me, this is a night when you are going to need all the tingling you can get.

How delicious is a banana cake with coconut frosting? Can you say, “Beat me down, this is so good”? This recipe is all about the bananas, so try and find the very-well-ripened bananas. They are sweeter and softer, and definitely add more banana taste to the cake. Of course, the real star of this cake is the coconut frosting. Once they eat this dessert, your family and guests will have found the golden egg, and you just might get a standing ovation. Happy Easter!

PAT Gina will mix up a batch of this for me to serve our guests, and if I’m lucky she’ll make enough for me, too. It’s good.

“Devils on Horseback” are an old Southern favorite, and it’s hard to believe how so much flavor can be packed into one little bite. We like to make a double batch whenever we’re having a family party; they fly off the plate so fast we can barely keep up! Luckily, they’re just as easy to make as they are to eat. There are several variations that are fun to try: for example, try substituting Parmesan for the blue cheese, or dates for the prunes.

GINA The Cubans had the right idea when they invented the classic mojito: it really is a perfect cocktail (not too sweet, not too sour). Another great thing about mojitos is that you can add almost any flavor to them and they taste amazing. I was experimenting with mojitos, creating a brown-sugar one, and I thought, why not blackberries? I’ve always been a fan of blackberries: I even like to eat them frozen right out of the freezer. (I do the same thing with grapes.) The infusion of mint and basil gives this version an herbal freshness, and the agave nectar is a gentle, natural sweetener that dissolves quickly. Of course, you can leave out the rum and just pour some soda water on top of the berries, but why would you? Either way, the drink is a beautiful spring color, and spring is my favorite season, when everything is blooming, and life’s possibilities seem endless.

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.

GINA This always makes me think of that “Love Potion #9” song! And that’s exactly what your sweetie will be thinking when you make him this extra-special potion. When he asks you what’s in it, don’t tell him! He’ll probably think it’s a little girly, because it’s red and pretty. But what he won’t know is that this potion packs a wallop, thanks to the pomegranate’s aphrodisiac qualities. So potion up, ladies. You’ll thank me later.

PAT At twenty-one, most people want their first cocktail . . . but when our kids are moving a little too fast, we always say, “Slow your roll or pump your brakes, sister!” So Gina came up with this recipe for frozen mango margaritas, which tastes great as written (for us) or with only a splash of the tequila and Cointreau (for Spenser).

Italians don’t use preserved lemons—they’re more of a Moroccan thing. But more lemons come out of Sicily than anywhere else, and the intense, concentrated flavor of preserved lemon peel is perfect in dishes such as Grilled Mackerel with Crispy Potatoes and Caper and Preserved Lemon Sauce (page 181). You’ll need a large sterilized jar with a lid for this recipe.

If the combination of olive oil and dessert falls outside your comfort zone, I guarantee this cake will make you a total convert. This luscious specimen has the richness of a traditional pound cake but a more complex texture, all complemented by the haunting fruitiness of extra-virgin olive oil. Almond meal, or almonds ground until fine, gives it a delicate nuttiness. Completely addictive on its own, this cake is even better dressed up with fresh spring cherries scented with fresh bay and a tangy dollop of crème fraîche. These pretty, yellow- and pink-hued cherries are more commonly known as Rainiers, but I like this moniker better because one of the restaurants sits perched atop Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill. It’s essential to use fresh bay leaves in this recipe. Dried bay is too strong and will give the cherries an almost medicinal taste, not a quality I look for in a dessert.

This is an Italian classic, with a twist. Traditionally made with Marsala, I like to vary it by using Viognier, or even prosecco, as we do here. The wine adds a dimension to the custard and marries well with the sweet berries. If you don’t have a kitchen torch, skip the step where you sprinkle on the sugar and simply serve the custard spooned over the berries. If you use the broiler instead of a torch, the custard will get too soft.