Stone Fruit

Juicy peaches, crushed cookies and vanilla ice cream spiked with brandy and amaretto add up to a perfect summer treat.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Peach Baked Alaskas with Spiced Peaches and Raspberries.

LaVerl Daily, director of Le Panier cooking school in Houston, suggests supplementing this slightly tropical entrée with rice, black beans and buttered green beans sprinkled with chopped macadamia nuts. Finish with sweet potato pie or coconut cream pie.

This recipe was created to accompany Grilled Citrus Salmon . Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here's a terrific light version of an American summer classic.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe originally accompanied Cherry-Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Sauce .

This pretty tart is great with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Among favorite desserts of the decade were waffles, served with ice cream and syrup, as well as this easy cake's ancestor. The treat reached its maximum popularity with the increasing availability of canned pineapple and the marketing efforts of the Dole Company. Today's widely available fresh fruit-spiked with ginger, macadamia nuts and orange zest-gives a great result.

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.

Yellow or white peaches work equally well.

A gift from Native American cooks, hominy is dried, hulled corn kernels. Sold rehydrated in cans, it also makes a great addition to soups, stews, and casseroles.

These colorful treats are like chilled fruity bread puddings. Start making them at least one day and up to two days before serving.

The word chutney comes from the Hindustani chatni, which means "strong spices." The sweet juiciness of golden pineapples — much more intensely flavored than ordinary pineapples — balances the spices with the lusciousness that only tropical foods possess. But you can substitute regular pineapple if you cannot find the golden variety, and the chutney will still be complementary. Serve it with Jerked Pork Chops or any grilled meat.

Apples are traditional, but peaches are divine.