First-Rate Veggie Plate

Recipes:

• Crowder Pea Succotash
• Crowder Peas
• Squash Casserole
• Grilled Sweet Onions
• Fresh Herb Vinaigrette
• Green Beans With Caramelized Garlic
• Not Yo' Mama's Mac 'n' Cheese

Condiments We Love
Sweet and spicy condiments are great complements to vegetable meals. Hot sauce, chowchow, pepper sauce, and relishes all add a tangy bite to squash, succotash, butter beans, and other mild flavors. Greens, especially, are enhanced by peppery sauces or sweet relishes. Supermarkets and specialty stores carry a wide variety of products, but pepper sauce, the simplest of the bunch, is the hands-down favorite of restaurants and home cooks across the South. It reigns supreme at our tasting table as well, but we also like homemade chowchow and Wickles Hoagie & Sub Sandwich Relish for topping peas and greens.

Assemble your own ultimate veggie plate from this tasty selection of favorites. One from several categories will make a lovely seasonal meal.

Something Yellow

• Tee's Corn Pudding
• Santa Fe Corn Pudding
• Buttermilk Fried Corn
• Creamy Fried Confetti Corn
• Summer Squash Casserole
• 2-Cheese Yellow Squash Casserole
• Yellow squash Casserole

Something Green

• Southern Turnip Greens and Ham Hocks
• Collards With Red Onions
• Uptown Collards
• Turnip Greens Stew
• Braised Kale With Bacon and Cider
• Green Bean Salad With Vidalia Onion and Mint
• Green Bean, Walnut, and Feta Salad
• Green Bean and Red Bell Pepper Toss

Something Fried

• Fried Pecan Okra
• Fried Okra and Potatoes
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Garlicky "Fried" Vegetables
• Simple Stir-Fried Okra

Peas or Beans

• Peppery Peas of Plenty
• Easy Black-eyed Peas
• Succotash Salad
• A Mess of Peas
• Butterbeans and Bacon
• Summer Succotash
• Quick Summer Succotash
• Simple Garlicky Lima Beans

Something Tomato

• Sliced Tomatoes in season―it's hard to improve on perfection
• Tomato Casserole
• Grilled Okra and Tomatoes
• Roasted Tomatoes with Shallots and Herbs
• Honey-Baked Tomatoes
• Tomato-Cucumber Salad
• Marinated Tomatoes With Basil and Balsamic Vinegar

Macaroni and Cheese

• Divine Macaroni and Cheese
• Caramelized Onion Macaroni and Cheese
• Mac and Texas Cheeses with Roasted Chiles
• Classic Baked Mac and Cheese
• Smokin' Mac ‘n Cheese
• Creamy Mac ‘n cheese
• One Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Cornbread

• Hot Water Cornbread
• Super-Moist Cornbread
• Lynda's Tex-Mex Cornbread
• Skillet Cornbread
• Cornbread

"First-Rate Veggie Plate" is from the August 2008 issue of Southern Living.