Southern

There is hardly a wedding or garden party in the Lowcountry without these yeast biscuits. They are small, only about an inch in diameter, and they are split to hold slivers of salty country ham tempered with dollops of chutney or mustard. One ham provides enough meat for 200 to 250 biscuits. These doubly lightened breads — really yeast rolls — are also called "angel biscuits" and "bride's biscuits." Bill Neal has suggested that the "bride" is the inexperienced cook who needs the insurance policy of the double leavening.

This gratin is particularly welcomed on the holiday table by those who love sweet potatoes and hate marshmallows. The cream and butter make this so delicious your guests will lie in bed and remember it happily all year long. You only serve this kind of dish once in a very long while, so the caloric intake is moderated. If your meal has too many sweet potatoes, see the variation for turnip gratin.

A refined version of a New Orleans classic. Ask the butcher to remove the backbone and quarter the duck.

Serve this zesty Cajun-flavored hash with a big salad (like a romaine mix with herb croutons) and a New Orleans-inspired dessert such as broiled bananas with butter pecan ice cream.

Garlic bread is perfect on the side. You can find Creole or Cajun seasoning in the spice section of most supermarkets.

This recipe combines the best of two classic New Orleans dishes — gumbo and jambalaya.

This cake is a southern tradition for festive occasions. It can be completely assembled and chilled one day before serving.

Here is a terrific lower-fat version of the classic New Orleans dish.

Whether cooked in the pan or in the bird, this stuffing has great down-home flavor.

"Benne" is the Carolina Low Country word for sesame seeds, which came to the United States from Africa. This biscuit dough is made a day or so ahead, then formed right before baking. Angel biscuits, so called because of their tender, light texture, will not keep well at room temperature once baked

At Thanksgiving, rice stuffings are standard on many southern tables. This one, a combination of white rice and wild rice, gets more regional notes from collard greens, pecans and ham.

As all southerners know, eating Hoppin' John—black-eyed peas and rice—on New Year's Day ensures good luck. But it is the collards, traditionally eaten alongside, that bring good fortune! An added bonus to cooking up a mess o' greens is the resultant pot liquor—the delicious, nutritious broth left in the bottom of the cooking pot or serving dish. It is usually served as an accompaniment to that last piece of corn bread.

In the South we grow up loving catfish, which is plentiful in the bayous and rivers. Now it's farm-grown and northerners are discovering its mild and versatile flavor. We coat bite-size fingers of catfish fillets with plenty of Tabasco sauce and deep-fry them for a knock-your-socks-off appetizer.

Tangy beer makes a good match with sweet, briny mussels. Here the brew is seasoned with a spice mixture akin to that used in a Louisiana-style crab boil. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.