The United States The Midwest Midwestern Dishes New England The South "Classic" Southern Cooking Cajun and Creole Cooking Southern Dishes The Southwest Southwestern Dishes Breakfast in the United States Harvey House Restaurants

Ingredient Sidebar: Apples Blueberries Breakfast Cereal Caviar Cherries Chocolate: A Timeline Cinnamon Corn Dandelion Greens Fiddlehead Ferns Grits Heirloom Seeds Hot Chocolate: A Very Brief History Lemons Lobster Morels New Potatoes Okra Oysters: • Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask • Oysters on the Half Shell: Kinds, Qualities, Drinks • Kinds of Oysters: What's Your Type? • A Natural History of Oysters: They Reproduce How? Pasta: • Noodles or Pasta? • Homemade vs. Storebought • A Pasta Gallery Ramps Rhubarb Rice Salsify Shad and Shad Roe Sorrel Strawberries Summer Squash Taro Root

Beignets (Creole)

Beignet means "fritter" in French. These yeast pastries, deep-fried and served hot, are a traditional specialty of New Orleans. They can be savory or sweet.

Chicken Rochambeau (Creole)

On top of a melba-toast like bread product called holland rusk, layer ham and mushroom sauce. Then pile on a chicken breast sautéed in butter, and top the whole with tarragon-laced hollandaise sauce.

Corn Dodgers (Soul)

Cornmeal and water are made into a thick dough that is formed into finger-shaped rolls, and grilled until brown on a hot griddle.

Cracklin' Bread (Soul)

During slavery, after the slave-owner had rendered his pork fat, the cracklings were given to the servants, who stired them into cornbread batter, and baked delicious cracklin' bread.

Crawfish Étouffée (Cajun)

Literally "smothered," étouffée names a Cajun dish where crawfish are covered in a stew of onion, bell peppers, and celery.

Gumbo Filé (Cajun)

Cajun gumbo begins with a deep brown roux, to which are added vegetables (pepper, onion, celery, garlic, and tomato) then a seafood stock made from shellfish shells, pepper, bayleaf, and thyme. Okra, which came with African slaves, or sassafras filé (dried, ground leaves of the sassafras tree), borrowed from Native American cooks, is added as a thickener. After the stew cooks for two hours or so, loads of fresh shrimp and crabs are added. The gumbo is ladled over buttered rice.

Hoppin' John (Pan-Southern) and Jambalaya (Cajun)

Hoppin' John is a stew of black-eyed peas and rice which traditionally ushers in the New Year. Other rice-based stews are called Jambalayas -- combining stock, vegetables, and rice with any number of meats, including duck, sausage, and chicken. Jambalaya reflects the Spanish accent in Cajun cooking, recalling paella's combination of shellfish, meat, and rice cooked in stock.

Rice Bird Pilau, or Perloo (Pan-Southern)

This recipe comes verbatim from The Savannah Cook Book by Harriet Ross Colquitt (Charleston: Colonial Publishers, 1933): "Stew one dozen rice birds [head included] in a quart of water, until thoroughly done, seasoning them to taste with red pepper and salt. When done, remove birds and sprinkle one pint of rice in the water in which they were cooked. Boil fifteen minutes, then drain off water, stir in the birds, and steam until the rice is dry and grainy. And when the pie is opened...even if the birds don't sing, you will have to admit that the dish is fit to set before a King!"

Scalloped Oysters (Pan-Southern)

One of many southern oyster recipes; in this dish, oysters are baked between layers of bread crumbs and butter until golden brown.