Pineapple

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Made with a fraction of the butter used for most upside-down cakes, this dessert has the flavor and texture of angel food cake — and it tastes so good that nobody will know it has been streamlined.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires addtional sitting time. Serve this salad as a fiery first course for an Asian-style entrée such as a stir-fry, or use it as a side dish for grilled chicken or fish.

It's best to serve this lobster salad right after you make it, rather than preparing it in advance. If the salad stands for more than half an hour, pineapple enzymes will alter the texture of the lobster meat. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Looks pretty and tastes great. If you can find fresh raspberries at this time of year, layer them with the other fruits.

Churrasco is Spanish for grilled steak. This is Douglas Rodriguez's Argentine interpretation made with pork. He takes slices of tenderloin and pounds them to approximate the thickness of a skirt steak. Marinate the tenderloin strips for two to six hours before grilling.

These layered desserts are a pure flight of fancy. Inspired by the Italian dish lasagna, they use a traditional Peruvian fruit and cheese combo and add the very French technique of brûléeing sugar to create a brittle caramel. Villaran tops them with a caramel crown for a dramatic presentation, but they are just as delicious with nothing more than a drizzle of strawberry sauce.

Tangy crème fraîche and a very grown-up rum-pineapple topping take cheesecake to an entirely new level. For best results, use Philadelphia-brand cream cheese.

Chopped cilantro in the dressing and whole leaves mixed with the spinach add a double dose of cilantro flavor to this salad.

Chef Tory McPhail writes: "I was 19 years old and just out of culinary school when I first started at Commander's Palace. Despite my training, nothing prepared me for the pressures of working in a fast-paced kitchen, or in a restaurant of such high quality. I think my success came down to sheer effort and a lifelong passion for cooking. Even as a kid I loved playing with cookie and pie dough. "After a seven-year absence, which I spent working abroad and opening a new Commander's Palace restaurant in Las Vegas, I came back to New Orleans last year. Since returning I've enjoyed cooking for my friends. On the weekends we'll go fishing, and then I'll grill our catch and serve it along with a fresh salad. That meal combines the two best things about living in the South — lots of fishing and great fresh produce."

"I’ve been cooking since I was twelve, and my husband, Bruce, picked it up during a "Mr. Mom" phase after our second daughter was born," writes Renee Davis of Cadiz, Ohio. "We have a great time coming up with recipes together. If he concocts a dish, I’ll taste-test it, and vice versa. Some of our best (and worst) dishes have been the result of enthusiastic experimentation. I used to serve fresh fruit with a cream-cheese-and-marshmallow dip as an easy dessert after big barbecue meals, but we improved on that by adding a cookie crust and ended up with an entirely new dish." Popular with kids and adults, this dessert pizza is incredibly easy to make. Top with your favorite summer fruit.