Cornmeal

This moist spoon bread (a pudding-like bread made with cornmeal) tastes best warm.

Serve with: Romaine salad with creamy Italian dressing, and steamed Broccolini. Dessert: Lemon gelato topped with sliced figs and Marsala.

Pick up some crunchy coleslaw and corn bread to go with the fish. Bourbon-spiked sweetened peaches with vanilla ice cream are a nice dessert.

This southwestern version of fried chicken needs only two sides: purchased Mexican-style rice pilaf and a sauté of bell peppers and carrots. Flan with sliced kiwi would be a nice finish. Look for ancho chili powder in the spice section of your supermarket.

Cayenne pepper in the batter gives these muffins a nice little kick.

Stone-ground cornmeal has more texture and corn flavor than steel-ground.

This moist sweet corn bread is a nice addition to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

This soufflé-like tart makes a nice lunch or light dinner with a salad of mixed baby greens.

Put the dressing in the oven as soon as the turkey comes out to rest before it's carved.

The name for this time-honored dessert probably is derived from the fact that it was prepared with cornmeal, which the early American settlers strongly associated with the Indians. Similar in texture to thick porridge, this easy-to-make classic is great on a cold day when you want something warm, comforting and sweet.

Tapenade, a puree of olives and herbs that's enjoyed in France, gets a boost from tangy sun-dried tomatoes.

We found that using finely stone-ground cornmeal yielded a denser, slightly heavier fritter than regular stone-ground cornmeal. Though both tasted the same, we preferred the texture of the fritter made with regular cornmeal.