Banana

Susan Murphy of Kansas City, Missouri, writes: "My daughter and I love to spruce up boxed cake mixes with spices, nuts, or fruit. One afternoon we decided to experiment with banana muffin mix instead. We made a very moist cake, filled it with fresh banana slices, then topped it with creamy homemade frosting. It's one of our favorite creations to date."

Begin making this one day before serving.

"My mother and I spent a recent afternoon shopping in Gruene, a small town not far from Austin," writes Martha Witebsky of Austin, Texas. "We loved the tender, fruity cake we had at the River House Tea Room. Would chef Carol Hill share the recipe for what she calls Hummingbird Cake?"

These are great with maple syrup, honey, marmalade, or even cottage cheese.

From Charleston Grill, Charleston, South Carolina.

Giving a nod to tropical fruit, this irresistible treat combines rich ice cream with a nut crust and thick fudge sauce.

Sopaipillas are crisp fried breads traditionally topped with honey; cinnamon and sugar are sometimes added to make a great dessert. In this recipe, fried tortillas approximate the texture of true sopaipillas.

Macadamia nuts give these fantastic sundaes even more flavor, as well as some satisfying crunch.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

An added pleasure of this salad lunch is that you can mix your own. Take a large tray and line it with grape leaves or large flat leaves of leaf lettuce. In the center place a shallow dish piled high with heart leaves of lettuce, watercress and spikes of French endive. Around this dish, on the grape leaves, arrange fruits according to your liking, such as:

This is a dessert version of classic fried savory ravioli, dressed up with custard sauce.