Casseroles
Although not unique to the South, casseroles are a favorite in the Southern diet. A casserole consists of meat mixed with vegetables, some starches, and usually a crunchy top. Casseroles are cooked for a long time in a a deep dish. The food gets its name from the deep dish used to cook it, and it is often served in that same dish. Many Southern casserole recipes take their names from states, such as the Texas Hash, Georgia Creamed Chicken, and Alabama Sweet Potato Casserole.
Commercial Seafood and Aquaculture
The Gulf of Mexico offers a bonanza of shrimp, fish, and crabs that support the South's commercial seafood industry. Louisiana, with its extensive swamps and bayous, also has a large crawfish industry. 
Commercial seafood consists of catching wild shrimp, fish, and crabs. On the other hand, aquaculture is the deliberate cultivation of aquatic species, often in tanks or artifiical ponds, and sometimes known as "fish farming." The South boasts a large aquaculture industry that produces catfish--as well as alligators and other marine species! Check out these links for more:
A Few Web Sites
- Eatocracy - CNN.com Blog
- GastroLab - Huffington Post
- U.S. Census
Bureau
(see especially the "Area Profile" section)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
Tex-Mex Food
According to the Oxford English Dictionary Online, Tex-Mex is "a Texan style of cooking using Mexican ingredients, and characterized by the adaptation of Mexican dishes, frequently with more moderate use of hot flavourings such as chilli; food cooked in this style." It developed when the culinary traditions of Mexican settlers in Texas were fused with Anglo (and Native American) cooking.
Tex-Mex food has spread throughout the South and the rest of America. Here are a few links that explain the history of Tex-Mex cuisine: