The Lee Bros. Simple Boiled Peanuts, Simple Fresh Southern, Matt Lee, Ted Lee, Southern Cookbook

Matt and Ted Lee have become the unofficial ambassadors for Southern Lowcountry cooking. It started with a longing for the food they grew up eating in Charleston, South Carolina. It was the mid-90’s, they were living in New York City, fetching coffee for execs at VH1, but feeling homesick for something very simple: boiled peanuts. And so with a bit of ingenuity, they began their initial venture called The Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue. It didn’t take long for their next step, which has over time, won them the respect of some of the most famous chefs on the planet. That next step was to begin a writing career. Over the years, they’ve traveled the world writing about food for Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, GQ, The New York Times, and Martha Stewart Living. They were invited by chef Marcus Samuelsson to tour Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, they appeared on the Food Network in a “Throwdown” against chef Bobby Flay and won, and they hosted an oyster roast for Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Chanel’s No Reservations.

In 2006, Matt and Ted Lee put out their first book, the Southern Cookbook. It is a thorough collection of Southern dishes that received wide critical acclaim: winning two James Beard awards, two IACP awards, and was included on Food & Wine and Gourmet magazines’ year’s best lists.

This fall, the Lee Brothers launched their sophomore effort, called: Simple, Fresh, Southern. While their first book may have seemed targeted to serious cooking, their second is more approachable and focused on recipes that appeal to the busy home cook. It is Southern based, but with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. Using their expertise and knowledge of Southern traditions, they update the classics with a healthier spin. The book’s emphasis is on “family style dishes that have comforting simplicity to them.”

As you flip through the cookbook, enjoying the food photography, you’ll notice most of the dishes can be completed in 10 to 30 minutes and don’t contain overly complex ingredient lists. The more time you spend with the book, the more you’ll want to cook from it. Matt and Ted seamlessly combine history, perspective, and cooking lessons into each recipe. You’ll not only appreciate the simplicity, but you’ll know why you are doing something.

When making the Toasted Rice and Peas “Hoppin’ John”, why do you cook the rice first in oil? To generate a toasted popcorn-like flavor. For the Whole Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Onions, what chicken should you buy, and why roast the chicken on the vegetables? Naturally raised, minimally processed birds for the best taste and roast the chicken with the vegetables so the fat mingles with  them to become a “luscious side dish.”

We just love this cookbook: there’s context provided with explanations, the recipes are simple and delicious, and the photographs are enticing. Just like a great recipe, if you combine these essential elements together, it all works.