Cornmeal

Chicken potpie is a dish many of us crave when we want to conjure up the warmth of home and hearth, and chef Ashley Christensen, owner of Poole's Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina, is no different. "This potpie is inspired by my mother's kind of cooking: dishes that shout out the classics, but with clean flavors and crisp textures," she says. Christensen grounds the pie in colder-month offerings of sweet potatoes and rutabagas and tender leaves of kale instead of the usual carrot and celery combo. Adding another bit of Southern flair, the chef uses a small amount of cornmeal in the crust, which provides a nutty, toasty flavor with an echo of sweetness to match the filling. "Though some potpies are encased in crust, I like the "island" approach, letting the gravy bubble up around the pillow of crust," Christensen says. "Crust is potpie's defining moment, no matter how delicious the filling."

An addition of cornmeal gives these bars a sandy, crunchy, slightly savory crust that’s perfectly complemented by tart lime curd and sweet blueberry glaze.

If you can't find currants (check the farmers' market first), use any other berry or a mix.

Kids and grown-ups alike will love this upgrade on classic fish sticks. And with a cornmeal coating, they're naturally gluten-free. The creamy dipping sauce doubles as a dressing for the salad, so you don't have to mix up two different sauces to get dinner on the table.

Equal parts fruit crumble and coffee cake, this not-too-sweet dessert starts out bright pink but bakes to a toasty golden brown.

We like this textured, molasses-tinged loaf with a mix of seeds, but you can simplify by using a larger amount of just a couple of them.

I've worked on my fried chicken for many years, researching every recipe that I could lay my hands on, from early antebellum instructions to the Kentucky Colonel's secret technique. This recipe uses five fats, and each one contributes to the flavor of the result. To do the chicken right, you need an old black cast-iron skillet with a lid. Sure, you can make it in a deep fryer (like we do at the restaurant), but I prefer the old-fashioned way, which is nearly impossible to pull off in a restaurant. The skillets take up so much stove space that you can't make more than ten orders at a time. So this isn't the fried chicken you're going to eat at Husk. This is the way grandmas cook fried chicken in the South, and it's the way everyone should be making fried chicken at home. This recipe takes a lot of time and attention, way more than most conventional approaches (the chicken must be brined for 12 hours, so plan ahead). But it's good. Be sure to ask your butcher for the chicken skins to render for fat and to save the cooking fat, which makes mighty fine gravy. I've thrown that recipe in here too, to complete the meal just like my grandma would have.

For perfectly browned tops, cook one pan at a time on the topmost oven rack.

Toast the cornbread for a nice crisp texture.

This bread is also perfect with chili.

Store-bought cornbreads can be very sweet; taste before using, or omit the sugar from your favorite recipe.

If you don't want to heat up your house with the oven, you can bake any muffins on the grill but the lightly smoky flavor that the grill imparts is especially nice with corn-based ones. Because keeping the grill at a steady temperature can be tricky, the baking time can vary, so keep an eye on the muffins. For the best muffins, be sure that the entire pan is not set over direct heat (otherwise, the bottoms will burn).

Briefly baking the cornbread before adding the jam prevents the preserves from sinking to the bottom of the batter.

The polenta crust needs to chill at least 2 hours before baking, so prep it the night before (or in the morning before you run to work—it's that easy).

Editor's Note: Use this crust to make Allison Kave's Rhubarb Frangipane Pie . This crust has a more grainy, toothsome texture than a classic crust, and the natural sweetness of cornmeal makes a great accompaniment to summer pies such as blueberry or cherry. Use this when you want a truly rustic pie.

Take cornbread up a notch with this sweet-and-savory version studded with sautéed, thyme-scented apples.

We make lots of things from scratch on Thanksgiving, but pumpkin purée isn't one of them.