Dairy Free

We got this recipe from our good buddy (and Bobby’s neighbor) Michael Peay. He remembers his mom always used to make more than he and his brothers ever could eat because their house was so popular with their friends, especially around dinnertime. This stew, full of good porky sausage and plenty of tender cabbage, was his favorite childhood meal.

One of Bobby’s favorite soups on the menu at The Lady & Sons is Confederate bean soup, a rich mix of baked beans, sausage, and cream. We skip the cream here to make a lighter version with just as much flavor as the original. It’s a hearty meal in a bowl and a dream come true for anyone who loves franks and beans.

The crockpot might just have been invented to turn out the most tender pot roast you’ve ever had. Slow cooking makes the meat and veggies here so delicious that you might want to keep the recipe on hand for when company is coming for dinner. We think it’s so special that we serve a version of this at The Lady & Sons. And if you make it in advance, this pot roast just keeps getting better. We eat this with Buttery Stone-Ground Grits (page 25) when we get together for a family dinner.

Mama is friends with a couple from Indiana named the Moyers, who we like to refer to as Yankees. They taught her how to turn a handful of affordable, simple ingredients into these fried-patty sandwiches that will rock your world.

Trust a riverboat captain to throw some fish on the grill. Mama’s husband, Michael Groover, makes his po’boy sandwiches with sweet, mild tilapia fillets and tartar sauce so tasty some of us have been known to eat it on its own. These po’boys are a big, messy, and delicious meal—a real Low Country favorite. Don’t forget to put a bottle of Tabasco on the table for extra punch!

We took Mama’s classic pineapple rings off the ham and put them on our grilled chicken breasts. This sweet-and-sour, quick-cooking dish is a real crowd-pleaser. Pineapple slices coated in brown sugar and Bourbon turn sweet and caramelized on the grill, and a salad dressing marinade makes the chicken tangy, moist, and tender. Perfect with a nice green spinach salad.

At The Lady & Sons, barbecued chicken and fried chicken are staples of our business—that’s what we’re known for. And barbecued chicken is the first thing on the list when we think about firing up the grill. It’s a classic. We add a squeeze of lime juice and some zest to bring out the smoky sweetness of the sauce. What you really want to taste is the fire—that’s our favorite flavor.

When Bobby caught on to thick-cut pork chops, they started disappearing from the walk-in refrigerator at The Lady & Sons. We both enjoy how juicy and satisfying a nice big chop is, especially since it’s not as heavy as red meat and not as easy to dry out as a thinner chop. This is a simple, tasty way to cook them. All you need to add is some grilled veggies to make a complete meal.

When it comes to burgers, we Deens mean business. We like to keep the seasonings on the meat simple, then go all out on the toppings. Mama got us started with a fried egg on top of the burger, which can get messy, but then again, by the time we finish piling it all on—bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, grilled mushrooms and onions, pickles, steak sauce—well, it’s a three-napkin burger at the very least.

Mama likes to serve peppered shrimp in their jackets, and we’ve been improvising on her recipe for years. But for simple weeknight meals, we like to buy shelled shrimp. They’re easier to eat that way, and faster to cook. Here, we sauté them with mushrooms, which Bobby is fond of, and bacon (you can guess who thought of adding that!).

We’re always looking for new ways to cook shrimp. Here, the lip-smacking shrimp and veggies cook on skewers at the same time, making the meal fast and easy enough for a weeknight meal, even if shrimp seem like Saturday-night kind of food. Kids can even help out with threading the food onto the skewers. Serve this spicy recipe over Coconut-Orange Cashew Rice (page 66) and you’ve got a complete and extra special meal.

When it’s so cold that even Bobby won’t cook out on the grill, we turn to this recipe. Broiling tuna (one of Bobby’s favorite fish) is a perfect way to sear the outside while keeping it nice and rare inside, and the superfast salsa is full of bright, spicy flavor. We started making our own salsas a few years ago and haven’t looked back.

We never get tired of the sweet, mild flavor of tilapia, but some nights we like to pair it with a nice bold sauce like this Italian combo, which offers salty capers and tangy tomatoes. Serve it with a side of rice to soak up all that delicious sauce.

Salmon is something so healthy that we just had to put mayonnaise on it. The lemon mayo gives it a great zesty flavor and oomph—it keeps the fish moist, too. Our lettuce and cucumber salad is a perfect match for this light dish.

This is our Granny Paul’s recipe for fried chicken, and it’s as simple a taste of Southern home cooking as there ever could be. Serve it with collard greens and some mashed potatoes, and before you know it you’ll be whistlin’ “Dixie.” And you don’t need to save this meal for Sunday suppers—if you’re short on time, just skip the refrigeration and season the chicken right before you fry it to have yourself a down-home after-work treat.

We can get behind any recipe with peanut butter in it! This savory dish, with just a hint of fiery red pepper flakes, is a nod to our favorite Thai take-out dish from Kao Thai in Savannah. Best of all, it’s based on ingredients you probably already have in the house.

Drumsticks are always our favorite, but Mama always likes the thighs, so we make it so that everyone can get what they want. Rosemary really complements the new red potatoes and gives them a hearty garden flavor, and using dark meat keeps the dish juicy. We love this with a light side salad like our crunchy iceberg lettuce salad with blue cheese.

We perfected making honey mustard during the early days at The Lady & Sons, where it’s served mostly on the side as a condiment, or as a dipping sauce for the kids’ menu (see The Lady & Sons Honey Mustard Sauce, page 159). At home, we throw store-bought honey mustard in with chicken for this family-pleasing dish that’s a little sweet on the outside and nice and juicy inside. Warm macaroni and mozzarella salad is a nice complement to the chicken.

We do so many pork chops at home and at The Lady & Sons these days because they’re fast—you can make as many as you need—and they’re a good change from red meat or chicken. This recipe is a really nice way to enjoy them. Orange marmalade gives them a sweetness that’s perfect for adding a little zest to your meal.

London broil is a great, affordable way to serve steak to a crowd, and it’s nice and thick, which makes it our favorite cut for grilling or for a sandwich the next day. Or you can slice leftovers, throw them in a pan, and make the world’s best steak and eggs for breakfast. We brush the meat with balsamic vinegar, then broil it for a tangy-sweet glaze. You’ll be amazed how many compliments you can get from such a simple recipe.