Southern

Fresh shell-on peanuts are available only at harvest time and are hard to find, but unroasted shell-on peanuts work just as well and can be found in many supermarkets and online.  

Nothing says “Southern” like the smell of okra frying in a cast-iron skillet atop an angry flame.

Keep the fat rendered from good bacon in a crock in your fridge. It’ll make this the tastiest cornbread you’ve ever had.

Pile this creamy seafood salad into hot dog buns for an easy summer sandwich or serve over greens for lunch.

Great pimiento cheese is all about spice. Red peppers and hot sauce are essential to cutting through the richness of the cream cheese and cheddar.

A sweet, nutty crumble offers the perfect balance to this uniquely prepared French Toast recipe–optimal for serving at a holiday brunch or as dessert to the main meal. (Or a mid-day snack. We won’t tell.)

Can't find kefir? Substitute buttermilk or plain yogurt.

Millet and glutinous rice flours form the base of these fried, chicken-studded appetizers.

Steam a mixture of corn, green beans, and tomatoes in a foil pouch alongside butterflied trout for an easy one-sheet-pan dinner.

This pie is both sweet and salty, which is my favorite dessert combination. The smoky bacon, mingling with the spiced apples and bourbon crust, is heavenly.

Marinating chicken in vinegar and spices tenderizes the meat and makes it extra flavorful. The accompanying mayo-based white sauce is positively addictive.

Wake up grilled chicken by glazing it with a sweet-and-tangy barbecue sauce, and pairing it with a salad of grilled onions, raw tomatoes, and pickled green beans.

In the air fryer, you can have tender, pull-apart ribs in a fraction of the traditional time. The spice rub ensures a crunchy, caramelized exterior “shell” as well, so there’s nothing missing here except the hefty barbecue grill and all the mess that comes along with it.

This North Carolinian cobbler-like dessert, with both a bottom crust and lattice top, is topped with a sweetened milk “dip” after baking for a time and then returned to the oven so that the dip forms a rich glaze.

In this cobbler recipe, the batter puffs up around the fruit, creating a cakey top and a gooey base.

The richness of this buttermilk batter, with its slight whisper of chocolate, is perfectly offset by a  smooth cream cheese streaked through with violet swirl of blackberry compote.