Skillet-Roasted Lamb Chops with Rosemary-Leek Hush Puppies, Quick-Pickled Fennel and Shallots, and Green Pea Puree

For the fennel (which you can make ahead of time): combine equal parts vinegar (cider or sherry would be best) and water, and bring to a boil along with salt (lots), a few black peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a little sugar. While that's getting hot, thinly slice your fennel bulb and a shallot, either on a mandoline or with a sharp knife. Once the pickling liquid is boiling, pour it over your vegetables in a bowl to cover, give it a quick stir, and set aside for about an hour. Once the vegetables have lost most of their crunch, drain off the liquid, rinse once or twice with cold water, and set aside.

For the lamb and hush puppies, preheat an oven to about 375. In a mixing bowl, combine buttermilk, an egg, and some chopped leek and rosemary (I wish I'd used more rosemary in mine, so be generous) along with salt and pepper to taste. Add cornmeal until the batter is thick but not yet doughy. Set aside.

Cook some green peas until done, but don't overcook them as this will ruin the color. You're shooting for a bright green, not olive. In a blender, combine peas, salt, olive oil, and lemon juice and blend until smooth.

For the lamb, get a cast iron skillet or other heavy pan as hot as you can manage, then add a bit of oil to the bottom. While the pan is heating, salt and pepper your rack of lamb to taste - I like it heavy on the pepper. This is also a good time to get your fryer oil going. I don't have an oil thermometer, but it's ready to go once a little dollop of hush puppy batter starts bubbling and hissing as soon as you drop it in. Sear the lamb for a few minutes on each side, then put the skillet in the oven (lamb fat side down) for about 15-20 minutes. We're going for medium rare.

Get out the bowl of hush puppy batter and add a dash each of baking soda and baking powder. Stir to combine, then drop spoonful-sized globs in the got oil. If you are a food geek like me you will make quenelles, but don't bother if you don't feel like it. They're done when they're medium brown on the outside. Set them on a paper towel and throw a little salt on to season the crust.

Put fennel on the plate along with some of the pea puree, and set a couple of hush puppies in the peas (dipping the former in the latter is highly recommended). Slice out your chops and rest on top of the fennel.

Pumpkin-Chipotle Soup with Maple Crème Fraîche, Bacon, and Sage

Preheat the oven to 375. Peel the pumpkin (I used kubocha, a Japanese pumpkin, because I couldn't find a regular one) and cut into 1" chunks. Put on a cookie sheet with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, and roast until fork tender.

Once the pumpkin is almost done, saute some onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add black pepper and chipotle powder to taste, mix around, then add the squash pieces. Stir everything together and add enough water to make it easy to puree. Put the whole thing in a blender (let it cool a bit first!) and puree smooth. Rinse out the old pot, then put the puree back in. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. At this point you need to add more liquid to get it to the right consistency - use anything from skim milk up through whipping cream, depending how rich you like it. I used some half and half and some skim milk. Mix well to combine, and salt to taste.

Fry some bacon - you want it crispy, not chewy, but also not burned. Crumble it up and mix with chiffonaded sage. Stir together creme fraiche and maple syrup (the real kind), to taste.

Sprinkle bacon and sage on top, and drizzle creme fraiche.

Honey Cardamom Cheesecake with Ginger Snap and Pecan Crust and Blackberry-Bourbon Syrup

For the crust, crush up a few ginger snap cookies and a handful of pecans, then mix with melted butter into a crumbly paste. Spread out evenly on the bottom of a springform pan and put in the freezer while you mix the rest.

To make the cheesecake, mix together a block and a half of cream cheese and some honey until it's a smooth mix. Combine with eggs and a pinch of ground cardamom until smooth. Don't over-beat the batter, and try not to get a lot of air into it.

Butter the walls of the pan with the crust in it, then pour in the batter. If you're like me you probably forgot to pre-heat the oven, so set it to 350 and do something else while it heats up. Some of the butter from the crust may leak out of the pan, so you should put it on a tray or wrap the bottom in foil. Leave it in at 350 for 15-20 minutes, then put it down to 250 for about another hour. It's done when it jiggles in response to shaking and still looks a bit wet in the middle. Cool at room temperature, then in the fridge: at least an hour, preferably as long as you can stand to wait.

The sauce is very easy. Throw a handful of blackberries in a pan along with some sugar. Put the heat on until they start to cook. Take the pan off the heat, add a splash of bourbon, and then back on, tilting it to the side to ignite the booze. If you have an electric stove you might have to use a match. Let it burn itself out, then spoon or pour over a slice of cheesecake.

Grilled Lobster with Cherry Tomatoes, Conecuh Sausage, and Garlic Cheese Grits

grits. garlic. butter. tillamook cheddar.

Conecuh sausage.

shallots. sage. tomatoes.

lobster tail.

Challah

flour. yeast. egg. oil. sugar. salt.

Seared Beef with Pan Juices; Baby Arugula,Truffle-Lemon Vinaigrette, and Crispy-Fried Shallot; New Potato Gratin with Rosemary and Great Hill Blue

potato. cream. blue cheese. rosemary.

arugula. lemon. olive oil. truffle oil. shallot.

beef sirloin steak. zinfandel. butter. shallot.

Gazpacho with Green Apple and Watermelon Slaw; Grilled Garlic-Rosemary Shrimp

tomato. garlic. cucumber. onion. bell pepper. olive oil.

watermelon. apple. salt. cider vinegar.

shrimp. rosemary. garlic. lemon.