Southern

Hoppin' John is a traditional southern dish of black-eyed peas and salt pork served with rice. Here, it's a risotto dotted with black-eyed peas and flavored with bacon and pancetta. This is an unconventional method for making risotto — rather than slowly adding hot stock to the rice, Rollins adds it, unheated, in just 2 batches. This will allow you more time for preparing the chops that go along with it.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min For those who don't like their oysters raw, there's the classic po'-boy sandwich. New Orleans's first po'-boy makers settled on a roll that is light and mild, so that it doesn't overpower the tender oysters inside, yet is substantial enough to keep its shape when the sweet juices are released from their cornmeal crust. We discovered that a soft-crusted French, Italian, Portuguese, or Cuban loaf works well. Hot pepper sauce is the traditional condiment, but we've improvised a little, using chipotle mayonnaise to add a layer of smokiness instead of pure heat.

Don't let the unappetizing-sounding name fool you: I'm talking about mold as in "shape" here. I'm from New Orleans, which means I grew up with a lot of socializing, most of it centered around food. There, both the front door and the refrigerator door are always open for friends or family who drop in. My mother always seems to have a steady stream of visitors, whether it's a neighbor who's stopped by for tea, one of her many siblings who happen by at dinnertime, or me with a whole troop of friends in for Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest. True New Orleanian that she is, she always has something good to eat. This seafood mold is a common dish at parties all around the city, and as improvisation is the hallmark of New Orleans cooking, each chef has her own version. I haven't gotten to the stage where I've made my own mark on this recipe yet, so I just copy Mom's. This mold needs to be made at least a few hours in advance in order to give it time to set, but it's a delicious centerpiece to any hors d'oeuvres table. You can serve it with crackers, with thinly sliced, toasted French bread, or with vegetables. Sometimes Mom even serves this in boiled-egg halves, as a New Orleans–style variation on deviled eggs. Be creative!

The chef uses Georgia quail in this dish; chicken works well and is easier to buy.

Named for the "muddy" Mississippi River, this is a dark and rich chocolate cake.

When I eat Bread Pudding Soufflé I always think of the Commander's saying, "If it ain't broke, fix it anyway." Bread pudding was already near perfection, but we combined Creole bread pudding with the light texture of a meringue and ended up with the restaurant's signature dessert, the single most sought-after dish in our family's restaurant history. The whiskey sauce itself is divine but particularly so when generously poured over the piping hot soufflé. Take it from me, this is no light dessert. Make the bread pudding and the sauce in advance, the meringue just before assembling and baking.

You will find this every day at dessert time at Mrs. Wilkes'. "For a delicious change, we sometimes substitute our pound cake for the vanilla wafers," informs Marcia. This is a special favorite of the Girl Scouts who troop over from the Juliette Gordon Low House, birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts of America.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Dense, moist and delectable, this homey cake has a lovely balance of flavors.

To help this crisp live up to its name, we devised a little trick: Squeeze the topping by handfuls to compact it, then crumble chunks of it over the filling. The chunks rest on top of the fruit instead of sinking into it.

My long-time friend, colleague, and fellow Southerner, Jean Anderson, relates in her wonderful American Century Cookbook how her mother came up with this delightful variation on old-fashioned sticky buns as a way to avoid having to fool with yeast dough. Contrary to what the long list of ingredients might imply, the biscuits are quick and easy and perfect for a stylish brunch.

A nod to what could arguably be the dish of the eighties, blackened redfish. The technique works equally well with halibut.

Even the ranch dressing gets a Cajun kick in this lively main-course salad.

Every small town in Georgia seems to have its own peanut-dessert specialty for the holidays. This one features a creamy no-bake peanut butter filling in a crisp chocolate-crumb crust.

Traditional biscuits are so intimidating to novices in part because most recipes require you to make them at the last minute. I wanted to come up with something anyone can do, and this is it. The yeast makes the day! The dough is easy to work with, and both dough and baked biscuit can be made ahead.

Of course, I don't believe this dish is Spanish at all, but rather Cajun from Louisiana. I made it quite often in the 1960s. Then — as now — in home cooking, one had to watch the cost, and rice was an inexpensive way to fill out a meal; after all, rice feeds half the world. In most American homes at the time, rice was served buttered with salt and pepper. This recipe gave rice a little style, made it a delicious "fancy" side dish to serve alongside grilled meat or chicken. I always look forward to having any leftovers as a cold salad for lunch the next day. If you like a little added spice, put some hot pepper sauce on the table.

"My mother and I spent a recent afternoon shopping in Gruene, a small town not far from Austin," writes Martha Witebsky of Austin, Texas. "We loved the tender, fruity cake we had at the River House Tea Room. Would chef Carol Hill share the recipe for what she calls Hummingbird Cake?"

This is a variation on the classic New Orleans dessert bananas Foster, created by chef Paul Blange at Brennan's Restaurant. To save time, you can use store-bought premium vanilla or butter pecan ice cream instead of homemade. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 5 hr (includes making ice cream)