Recipes from Matt and Ted Lee
Texas Chile Short Rib Tacos
The sauce for these tender beef short ribs is intense. To round out the tang and heat from the tomatoes and chiles, cookbook authors Matt and Ted Lee add a little semisweet chocolate. "It's mellow and sweet," says Ted. "The chocolate puts everything in balance."
1 of 8
Pan-Roasted Corn and Okra
2 of 8
Cornmeal-Crusted Fish with Green-Tomato Tartar Sauce
When they're in South Carolina, the Lees make this recipe with wreckfish, a local, sustainable catch; striped bass works, too. They advise leaving the skin on the fish because it crisps up so nicely.
3 of 8
Green-Tomato Pickles
Most supermarkets sell pickled tomatoes, but those can't compare to these supereasy homemade ones. Slicing the tomatoes thinly allows them to really soak up the wonderfully tangy brine.
4 of 8
Spicy Tomato-and-Watermelon Gazpacho with Crab
5 of 8
Squash Blossoms with Pimento Ricotta
Leigh Magar loves the fresh taste of edible flowers. For her, Matt Lee and Ted Lee created a new version of a Tuscan classic, fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta. They mix the ricotta with pimentos--an homage to pimento cheese, a Southern favorite--and serve the blossoms raw.
6 of 8
Romaine Salad with Flash-Pickled Figs
These "flash-pickled" figs need only an hour of soaking in a mixture of vinegar, salt and water. As a clever time-saver, the soaking liquid for the figs also forms the base for the salad dressing.