Cornmeal

There are many ways to stuff these iconic New Orleans sandwiches, but doing it with fried oysters is arguably the best. This preparation highlights the bivalves at their zenith, with all their briny juiciness retained inside a supercrisp cornmeal shell. The key to a really great sandwich is a smear of mayo, just a little lettuce, and loads of these delicious fried oysters.

Neither overtly salty nor sweet, and with a pleasantly grainy texture, these biscuits won a loyal following among staff dogs — as well as humans.

For convenience, make the cornbread one day before preparing the stuffing.

Make or buy a favorite pumpkin pie for dessert. What to drink: A fruit-forward Zinfandel or Malbec.

This simple, rustic cornbread is best used for making stuffing.

This crispy crust won't flop over on you, so it's wonderful for cocktail parties. It's delicious simply brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, focaccia-style, or topped with 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 pound sliced mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves.

What to drink: Try these with a lightly chilled Oregon Pinot Gris.

This cornbread is a little firmer and denser than one made for eating on its own so that it will hold up to grilling and tossing with the dressing for the Grilled Cornbread Salad with Red Onions, Arugula, and Red Wine Vinaigrette.

These thin cornmeal fritters go nicely with the flounder in jalapeño cream. They are made from the same type of batter as hush puppies, but not deep-fried.

Polenta stands in for flour with delicious results in this Venetian dessert.

We made our potpie in an oval baking dish, but you could also use a square or rectangular one.

This dish would be great served with fried eggs for brunch.

Corn bread sweetened with sugar must be a Yankee invention, because corn bread in the South is always a savory staple. We like to keep it simple, but don't stint on the fat, whether butter or bacon fat (or oil, if you must). Corn bread, corn muffins, and corn sticks should all be cooked to a dark shade of golden brown and turned out while hot, the steam rising fragrant with the aromas of corn and bacon, as you break into them.

The sautéed Broccolini and roasted squash and mushrooms are meant to be piled onto these creamy polenta sticks, then topped with the roasted vegetable gravy and frizzled onion .

Serve with: Texmati rice pilaf tossed with toasted pecans, and broccoli florets sautéed with sliced garlic.

Rouille is synonymous with bouillabaisse, the Provençal seafood soup. The rust-red sauce is traditionally prepared by blending chiles, garlic, olive oil, and breadcrumbs. This easy, mayonnaise-based version is delicious with fried fish and seafood.