While summer unofficially ends following Labor Day, fall doesn’t officially start until September 21st. As the temperatures start to drop, cooking methods such as warm weather grilling turn to slow-cooking and to heartier comforting fare.

With the popularity of Hawaiian poké I was inspired to explore other Hawaiian raw fish-based dishes and discovered lomi. The word “lomi” translates in Hawaiian to “to knead or rub” as the salmon is salt-cured overnight then traditionally mixed by massaging the ingredients together.

This spicy, spreadable cheese dip is made with just a few ingredients but is loaded with flavor.

I love the way fried ribs have a crispy exterior with a tender inside and I opt to coat the ribs in a chipotle peach sauce to use the last of some of my favorite summer produce, a fitting recipe for Labor Day weekend and the end of summer.

As the name implies, Nashville hot chicken hails from Nashville, Tennessee and is in fact, very spicy. When I was in Nashville I fell in love with Hattie B’s and their style of serving fried chicken coated with a spicy mixture.

Beer battered fried chicken is diced and served with a vinegar and oil-based homemade buffalo sauce as a light dressing and tossed with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, celery, carrots and blue cheese – all the fixings included in a typical buffalo wing setup.

This is my twist on the noodles made famous by Xi’an Famous Foods in New York City. These noodles include cumin and Sichuan peppercorn spiced sliced lamb sirloin all coated in a slick spicy chili oil sauce.

Hatch peppers are in season starting in August through the end of September and their short seasonality leads to high demand meaning that I have to take advantage of the availability of these coveted peppers while I can.

Pimento cheese isn’t actually a type of cheese, it’s a cheese spread made of a combination of pimento peppers, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and cream cheese.

With hints of lime and shredded coconut in the bread and a topping of coconut glaze this recipe will surely be a favorite for either breakfast or dessert.

This is a “sweet meets savory” breakfast with corn griddle cakes (also known as johnnycakes or hoe cakes depending on what area of the country you are in) topped with thinly shaved black forest ham and scallion-maple butter.