Banana

This breakfast treat tastes decadent but is really quite low in fat. It's topped with maple-spiked yogurt.

My mother learned to cook this bread during the Depression, when nothing was wasted — especially overripe bananas. We clamored for this treat so often that she frequently bought extra bananas and let them get almost black. I've discovered that overripe bananas can be peeled, mashed, and frozen, then defrosted whenever I want to bake up this memory.

The acidity of the vinegar and grapefruit is balanced by the quince, apple, and pear flavors in this French-style chutney. Bananas add creaminess. Use ripe fruit for best results.

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."

(Batido) This milk shake is a Puerto Rican and Cuban favorite; Palacio de Los Jugos on Flagler Street in Miami specializes in jugos and makes great tropical-fruit batidos. The fruit combinations are endless — try a mixture of strawberry and kiwi or guava and pineapple — and you can even use coconut milk instead of whole and spike with a shot of rum.

Begin making this one day before serving.

The fritter tradition harks back to West Africa, where frying in deep oil is one of the major cooking techniques. In the African Atlantic world, fritters can be served as appetizers, as a vegetable, and even as a dessert, as they are here. My maternal Grandma Jones had a way with fritters. She would prepare them from the overripe bananas that she found at low prices at her local greengrocer's.

Here, buttermilk replaces nearly all of the oil. Very ripe bananas give the best flavor.

This dessert is easy to make on a cleaned rack after grilling a main course.

Look for ripe mangoes that are slightly soft to the touch. To evoke the tropics even more, serve the fruit with coconut macaroons or macadamia nut cookies.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The addition of fresh fruit gives these irresistible sundaes seasonal appeal. The rich creamy sauce is a do-ahead.