Mango

Store-bought vanilla frozen yogurt acts as the luscious foil for oranges, pineapple, mango and bananas in a fat-free brown sugar-cinnamon sauce.

Cornmeal adds a nice crispness to the coating for the chicken. The salsa and the Three-Pepper Slaw with Chipotle Dressing make this a colorful entrée. For drinks, mix up some tequila-lime spritzers by combining a little tequila with fresh lime juice and sparkling water, or uncork a bottle of dry Gewürztraminer.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

A colorful, delicious dish from Lantana's Restaurant, Grand Cayman, West Indies.

Similar in texture to lemon bars, these have a shortbread cookie base and a delightful tropical fruit filling.

You can substitute flour tortillas for lavash.

Purchased pineapple-coconut ice cream and mango and boysenberry sorbets make this dessert easy. The terrine needs to freeze overnight before serving.

When sweet, succulent jumbo crabmeat comes into season, this is an incredibly simple, light, and refreshing first course that requires no cooking. It can also be used as a main course for a summer luncheon.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Vanilla-Bean Cheesecake with Guava Topping .

Start preparing this two days before you plan to serve it. Toast the coconut in a 350°F oven until light golden in spots, stirring frequently, about ten minutes.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

There are many varieties of mango grown on the African continent — comparatively, the selection of fresh mangoes here in the United States is limited. For this recipe, we recommend using canned slices of Alphonso mango, an Indian cultivar renowned for its bright orange flesh and very intense flavor.

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."

Use leftover chicken if you have any on hand, or start with a rotisserie chicken. Be sure to pick up the sliced peppers from the salad bar while you're at the market. Crunchy sesame breadsticks are all you need to complete the meal — except, of course, dessert, which could be pineapple slices sprinkled with coconut and broiled.

Begin making the lime-ginger curd one day before baking the cake. The assembled dessert can be chilled overnight before serving.