American

At FIG, ice cream isn't just for warm weather. In winter you'll find, say, molten chocolate cake paired with pistachio ice cream or maple ice cream atop spiced apple-raisin crumble. Summer in South Carolina means fresh local peaches, and chef Mike Lata puts them to good use in these single-serving tarte Tatins. They're pretty and delicious on their own, but with the addition of the Lemon Ice Cream, they're absolutely sublime.

These "Hawks Bars" are so good, chef-owners Michael Fagnoni and Molly Hawks named them after their restaurant. Super-sweet, fudgy brownies are topped with layers of white-chocolate-flavored caramel, bittersweet-chocolate ganache, and candied pecans and served with a scoop of not-too-sweet Cacao Nib Gelato. Incredible.

Chef Art Smith gives chicken a southern twist: First he smokes it, then he shreds it and coats it in a brown sugar and coffee barbecue sauce. And he serves this chicken over hoecakes, which, as the menu puts it, are sweet cornmeal griddle cakes "traditionally cooked after a hard day's work on the farm."

Use a tablespoon to shape the dough.

Almost every ingredient in this delicious chocolate cake is a pantry staple, making this a time-saving, budget-friendly dessert that still feeds a crowd. Plus, it keeps well, so even if you do have leftovers, you can enjoy the cake all week.

Everyone's free to be a kid again with one of these wickedly good frozen treats in hand. Chewy blondie cookies bookend a thick layer of lemony ice cream (store-bought vanilla bumped up with lemon juice and zest) ribboned with a speedy blueberry compote.

Even folks in the South, where pimiento cheese is lovingly called the "pâté of the South," will give you a quizzical look when you mention this burger. I always thought its true home was around Columbia, South Carolina, and the lower upstate area. But then I saw a pimiento cheeseburger on the menu in a wonderful burger joint and restaurant called Litton's, in Knoxville, Tennessee, so I guess a good idea can cross state lines. So here's how to do it, complete with a little pimiento cheese recipe, but the burger's not bad even if you have to use a good-quality store-bought pimiento cheese.

Smoke baking is a great technique to use for garlic bread, pizzas, quiche, or a savory breakfast casserole—whenever you want to bake and get a hit of smoky flavor at the same time. You can smoke bake using a charcoal grill, gas grill, or a traditional smoker with a smoking temperature you can control (water smokers have a set temperature of 225°F to 250°F and will not work for this recipe). When chiles from Hatch, New Mexico, come to market in August, I stock up on enough to roast and freeze for chile pies, pots of Southwestern chili, and batches of salsa through the winter months. You can substitute other varieties of chiles (or bell peppers for a less spicy result) in this recipe and experiment with additional ingredients, such as a garnish of chopped scallions, cilantro, or parsley. A teaspoon of your favorite chili seasoning blend or barbecue dry rub could add a special accent. If you can't get Hatch chile peppers, no problem. Buy fresh green Anaheim peppers and fire roast them at home. For a true Southwestern flavor use the heavier mesquite wood—very sparingly here—or pecan. This is a great dish for a light supper or an outdoor brunch. Suggested wood: Pecan or mesquite

This variation on the traditional method has never failed me. I learned it at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue event more than two decades ago from an Arkansas cook. It's simple. Place a partially smoked pork butt in a paper grocery bag and finish cooking by slow smoking it. The paper absorbs some of the grease and keeps the meat from drying out. People ask me, "Won't the bag catch on fire?" The bag will be saturated with pork fat, but a bag fire hasn't happened to me yet. For true Southern pork butt, go with hickory wood. However, I like to use fruitwood—maybe even peach or cherry—mixed with pecan. Because pork butt slow smokes for 6 hours, this is not a recipe to try on a gas grill. Suggested wood: Hickory or a combination of apple, peach, or cherry and pecan

Hot-wing aficionados will flip for these grilled shrimp, seasoned with hot sauce and butter. Celery and homemade blue cheese dip are delicious accompaniments.

In recent years, panini-type grilled sandwiches have taken center stage, but there is nothing like a freshly made club sandwich. The triple-decker here amplifies the classic flavors of a BLT with sliced hard-boiled eggs, chive mayo, and a jumble of herbs.

Not in the mood for bread? No problem. This no-mayo lobster mixture would also make an ideal centerpiece in a summer salad.

Freshly ground coffee adds a depth to the spice rub and brings out the flavor of the meat. Be sure to keep the rub recipe handy. The spice rub would also be great on steaks and chicken.

Praline, a southern candy, forms the top of this showstopping cake.

The term shell bean generally refers to any bean that has to be removed from the pod before eating.

This recipe originally accompanied Baja Fish Tacos .

Pat: My brother Tony has a terrific palate, and his true genius is in having developed the right "tempo" for our barbecue sauce—and, boy oh boy, he never lets us forget it! This recipe, which includes Neely's Barbecue Seasoning and eleven other ingredients, became one of the keys to our success as restauranteurs. Now it can be the base of your own kitchen success. Memphis Barbecue sauce is known for its sweet and tangy tomato base. Ours keeps true to that tradition, striking a perfect balance between the sweet (we use brown and white sugar), the tangy (cider vinegar), and the tomato base (good ole ketchup!). Any self respecting Memphis pit master will tell you that the sauce must complement the meat without overpowering it, and ours does just that. At the restaurant we simmer the sauce for five hours, and we always taste the blend before cooking it, making sure we've got all the ingredients working. Over the years, we've learned that if it tastes good before it cooks, it's gonna be outstanding after a long, slow simmer. The end result: an insanely thick, rich, and sweet sauce, and the perfect adornment for any rack anywhere.

Cooking Method: Direct Heat Suggested Wood: Hickory, Pecan These pinwheels were developed in the kitchens at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q as a part of a campaign for the National Pork Board. This is not your typical "low and slow" barbecue recipe, but rather an "ode to pork," a direct-grilled recipe that features both pork tenderloin and pork bacon. Add some pecans and a traditional Carolina mustard sauce and you have an appetizer or entreé with true Southern flair.

Well, here it is, the bane of North Carolina barbecue. I don't know if it's the addition of mustard that brings frowns to the faces of North Carolina barbecue purists or the fact that this is a South Carolina sauce, but this sauce certainly illustrates the diverging tastes and traditions of barbecue in the Carolinas. Throughout the 1700s, South Carolina drew a large contingent of immigrant German families. These new settlers brought with them ideas and advancements on ways to farm, as well as an affinity for the flavor of mustard. Even today, many of the families that produce mustard barbecue sauce have a German heritage, most notably the Bessinger family.

In the South, we have a tradition of ushering recipes from era to era and family to family. Secret sauces are passed down from generation to generation. That's certainly the case here. Our Barbecue Seasoning and Barbecue Sauce have evolved over time, and the versions that follow have benefited from the contributions of countless kin through the years. Now that we are passing our family secrets along to you, it's your job to share them with others. We enjoy changing up recipes ans seeing what happens, and we encourage you to do the same. Who knows? You may come up with a secret sauce or rub that's better than our own! Of course, the keys to full-flavored barbecue—indeed, one of the keys to any great-tasting dish—are fresh ingredients and spices. Don't be reaching in the back of the cupboard for some tired old tin of paprika. You want great ribs? Start with fresh spices. Everyone down South knows that a good grill seasoning (or "dry rub," as it's called in Memphis) begins with paprika. We use the basic paprika that is not labeled "sweet" or "hot." The flavor is subtly sweet, rich, and yet mild, so it blends beautifully with grilled meats. Sugar and onion powder provide a sweet and savory counterpoint. Keep in mind that you will be cooking over charcoal and hickory (or your preferred wood), which will add tremendous flavor to the meat. For that reason, this seasoning blend is fairly simple and straightforward. For the best flavor, marinate the spice-rubbed meats overnight in the refrigerator, so they can absorb and "breathe in" the flavors.