When it comes to good luck, Southerners don’t take any chances. Each year on New Year’s Day, we hedge our bets by eating hoppin’ John, a rustic mix of rice, black-eyed peas, bacon, and onion that is thought to bring good fortune in the year to come. (Literally—the peas in the dish represent coins, and [...]

This mix of crisp vegetables is super fresh and colorful. For each color to stand out, layer ingredients in a serving bowl. Right before serving, drizzle with dressing and toss.

Spoon bread is a cross between grits and corn bread, with a lovely dense pudding-like texture. I never need an excuse to bring sweet potatoes into the mix–I add them to just about everything. In this case, they reinforce the silky texture while adding color and sweetness. For perfect consistency, gently fold in egg whites, leaving visible swirls.

Since our mac & cheese is so popular at the market, we like to make different variations for our customers to try. We recently tried this one, with rave reviews.   Serves 8 to 10 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish ½ pound short, bite-size pasta such as penne, ziti, [...]

When vegetables are roasted, their flavors intensify or–in the case of garlic and eggplant–become sweeter. The reason for this is that natural moisture evaporates and the vegetables’ natural sugars caramelize slightly. Make sure the vegetables are placed in one layer, so they brown evenly. (If they’re piled up, they’ll steam instead of roast.) When roasting [...]

Oven-caramelized squash and tangy blue cheese make this creamy side hearty enough to double as a vegetarian entrée. It makes an excellent weeknight supper crumbled with crispy bacon or prosciutto and served with a simple green salad and a glass of crisp, sweet Sauternes or creamy Chardonnay. 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seed and chopped [...]

The perfect combination of sweet and tart, thinly sliced bread and butter pickles are the quintessential all-purpose sandwich toppers, delivering lots of big, punchy flavor in a small package. They make such a satisfyingly crunchy snack that—if you’re anything like me—you’ll soon graduate from layering them in sandwiches to munching them straight from the jar. [...]

Once you start making them, you begin to see pickle potential in just about everything. That—and an overabundance of fast-growing yellow squash—is what inspired my sister, Judy, to make these unusually gratifying sweet squash pickles. I call for yellow squash here, but you can use any kind of summer squash, from Sundrops and pattypans to [...]

I created this delicate slaw to showcase the vegetables — curlicue pea shoots, tender carrots, spicy arugula, and fresh herbs—that mark the arrival of spring.

Serves 4 2 pounds sweet potatoes (3 to 4 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 3-inch wedges 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup maple syrup Juice of 1 orange Leaves from 6 to 7 fresh thyme sprigs (about 2 tablespoons) Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste [...]