Buttermilk

The original cornmeal batters, as made for the settlers by the Indians, consisted of cornmeal, salt and water. These simple batters quickly evolved to include eggs, butter and milk, and were the basis of many of the most celebrated Early American breads, cakes and puddings.

In this recipe, the oven does the frying, eliminating most of the fat, and all of the messy splatter of traditional pan-frying. This quick and easy supper will be a sure family favorite, especially if you serve it with steamed green beans, sliced tomatoes, and biscuits.

Try these alongside egg dishes at brunch or with soup and salad for lunch.

Walnuts add crunch to these breakfast treats served at the Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid.

Fans of Buffalo wings will understand why we suggest serving these chicken cutlets with Crunchy Iceberg and Watercress Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing . Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

This is my favorite mashed potato recipe. These mashed potatoes taste as if they contain a great deal more fat than they do. I use buttermilk to mash the potatoes because it has a natural creaminess yet is far lower in fat than milk or cream, and I add a small amount of butter at the end, only after the potatoes have absorbed the liquid. The butter stays on the surface of the potatoes, its flavor readily discernible, imparting a truly rich finish. Be sure to use fine-textured, thin-skinned potatoes like Yellow Finns or Yukon Golds, which become extremely creamy when mashed. If made with baking potatoes, the result will be grainy and watery.

Waffles put on their black-tie best in a treat that is both elegant and homey.

This corn bread is less moist than others, but it's perfectly delicious for eating, especially when spread with butter. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 hr (includes cooling)

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

There are only five employees at The Little Rooster Cafe, a small breakfast and lunch spot, but its terrific food and friendly service make it popular with locals and tourists (especially those who come to browse the town's outlet stores). Chef and co-owner Hub Poelmann features a different waffle every day. "We have an open kitchen," he says. "People smell the waffles cooking, and then order them." Poelmann credits his cooks with this lemon-poppy seed recipe, which was the happy result of "playing around in the kitchen." These light waffles would also be good with maple syrup, if you prefer.

Here's the traditional southern way to bake and serve corn bread: right in the skillet. Using shortening to grease the pan produces a nice, brown crust.

"On a trip to Longboat Key in Florida, my fiancé and I ate at Pattigeorge's," writes Wendy J. Harbart of Forest Hills, New York. "The five-spice calamari was out of this world."

If you don't have a 2 3/4-inch-diameter cookie cutter, the same size tin can (with top and bottom removed) works just as well.