John Martin Taylor

This slow-simmered Southern classic uses just six ingredients (including water) to create rich, timeless flavor. 

You can fry this sausage in patties, stuff it into casings, or use it as an ingredient in other recipes that call for sausage. I use it in stuffings, in biscuits, smoked in links for gumbos, and as a breakfast meat. Use the recipe as a guide only. The wonderful thing about making your own sausage is that you can season it to taste.

There is hardly a wedding or garden party in the Lowcountry without these yeast biscuits. They are small, only about an inch in diameter, and they are split to hold slivers of salty country ham tempered with dollops of chutney or mustard. One ham provides enough meat for 200 to 250 biscuits. These doubly lightened breads — really yeast rolls — are also called "angel biscuits" and "bride's biscuits." Bill Neal has suggested that the "bride" is the inexperienced cook who needs the insurance policy of the double leavening.

Throughout the South, former cotton plantations remain as large tracts of land maintained as hunting preserves. The quail is a small game bird that spends most of its time on the ground. Often called "partridge," it is favored for its delicious white flesh. Serve one of these birds to each person as an appetizer for a big celebratory meal such as Christmas or a rehearsal dinner, or two as the main course.

"Four-spices" usually include four of five spices and are commonly used to season forcemeats for sausages and terrines. I include all five. This is one combination of spices that I try to keep on hand in small quantities. This recipes is a suggestion; quantities and proportions given are typical but not written in stone. Vary the amounts to suit your own palate.

Lowcountry cooking is full of ideas that seem foreign to outsiders. This sweet and spicy chutney is the perfect foil for salty country ham. Ground together, the two form a paste for memorable appetizers.