10,000 fay fay recipes

Garlicky black pepper shrimp and black-eyed peas is Low Country Southern cooking in one skillet: bacon, holy trinity, bay-scented peas, and wine-splashed shrimp finished with cracked pepper.

Eggplant manicotti stuffs pasta shells with garlic-roasted eggplant, charred red pepper, and tomato, then tops them with a creamy spinach-cottage cheese sauce. A lighter take on the Italian classic.

This is a very colorful and tasty arrangement of marinated and then skewered and grilled vegetables and fish. The marinade, called chermoulla, is a blend of fragrant seasonings, oil, and lemon juice. In this version I've suggested my favorite vegetables for kebabs. You should choose your own favorites; some other good choices are eggplants, mushrooms, and onions.

Big-batch Texas-style chili with ground beef, cumin, coriander, and a dash of cinnamon simmered for hours in tomato sauce and juice. No beans, all meat, feeds a crowd.

Authentic Cantonese lemon chicken with crispy deep-fried bird, tangy lemon-ginger sauce, black mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. A citrus-bright Chinese dinner that beats takeout.

Oaxaca tostada bites: tortilla chips topped with a mole-spiced black bean mash of cocoa, cumin, and cinnamon, cool avocado cream, pepper jack, and lettuce. A no-cook, party-ready Mexican appetizer.

Cincinnati chili: a thin, fragrant ground beef sauce spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cumin, ladled over spaghetti and topped with shredded cheddar, raw onion, and oyster crackers. The Ohio classic.

Hot sausage and mirliton casserole is the New Orleans Creole classic: chayote squash baked with Italian sausage, bell peppers, bread cubes, mozzarella, and fontina. A holiday-table staple.

Pit-master style Brunswick stew with smoked pulled pork, roasted chicken, okra, lima beans, and corn simmered in homemade stock. Low and slow for hours, packed with smoky, tangy heat.

A southern living take on stuffed peppers. Crab, crawfish and smoked sausage stuffing.

Pumpkin cheese tart with a gingersnap-oat crust and a marbled cream cheese-pumpkin filling, finished with warm caramel sauce. A lighter take on pumpkin pie that actually holds its own on the holiday table.

Low-fat pumpkin raisin cake made with egg whites, no butter, and pumpkin pie spice. Served with a strained yogurt cream sauce for a lighter fall dessert.

Veal ragout with red pepper braises cubed veal in white wine, plum tomatoes, and herbs, then finishes with sweet bell pepper and a bright lemon-garlic gremolata over fresh fettuccine.

Hy's Georgia chain-gang chili: a three-meat marathon chili with burgundy-marinated beef, ground pork, and poached chicken, simmered three hours with three kinds of chiles, beer, and Sauterne.

Meatless Cajun jambalaya with black-eyed peas, bell peppers, zucchini, and rice simmered in a smoky paprika-thyme tomato broth. One pot, big Louisiana flavor, no meat required.

Hearty six-bean soup with lima, white, black, chickpea, pink, and kidney beans simmered with vegetables, fines herbes, and chicken noodle soup mix. Topped with Parmesan and tomatoes.