Cornmeal, sorghum (both syrup and grain), pawpaws, pecans, buttermilk, sassafras, sweet potatoes: These became the engines that pushed all of that classic French technique to a purpose on my menus.

The pecan pie you're used to admiring in glass dessert cases is probably topped with a mosaic of large pecan slices fanning out towards a flaky, fluted crust. Pecan pies start popping up in ...