Abundant

Pineapple & Pistachio

Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way includes several light, flavorful desserts.  Here is a fresh pineapple simmered in a caramel sauce and sprinkled with pistachios.  Simple cookies garnish the fruit providing a crisp bite complimenting the pineapple.

Frango Cafe S'more

Frango Cafe (on the Seventh Floor of Marshall's Fields Macy's on State Street) in Chicago has several fun desserts.  This one is a variation on the camping classic sandwiching toasted marshmallow and chocolate bars between graham crackers.  The purist would find the ratios out of balance in the Frango version; it still tasted good and was fun to try!

Strawberry & Mango with coconut tapioca

I found this recipe in Moosewood's Simple Suppers cookbook.  It is a good, easy way to make a variation on the Thai sticky rice with mango dessert.  The tapioca has coconut milk and lemon zest flavoring it and is good on its own.  Adding the mango and/or strawberry creates a beautiful dish.

Roasted Pear with vanilla ice cream

Using the basic recipe for roasting fruit from A New Way to Cook, we served these roasted pears with vanilla ice cream.  The roasting juice was Orange Blossom honey and vanilla with a bit of water -- very simple!

Gingerbread financier cakes

Ahh... Sherry Yard does it again!  What a fantastic dessert!  This gingerbread financier cake is served with whipped cream and dried cranberries.  There's a great addition of lemon zest in this cake which is an unexpected, delightful surprise.

Mexican chocolate cake

Baked using the recipe from Jameson's Border Cookbook, a trusted and loved source of recipes, this Mexican chocolate cake is an amazing experience.  Mexican chocolate, such as Ibarra or Mayordomo, have a different taste than traditional bittersweet found in the US and Europe.  There is a hint of almond and cinnamon that is delicious.  I've decided this is now my favorite chocolate cake.

Cake and ice cream

What a celebratory dessert!  Angel food cake, ice cream, and homemade cherry sauce result in a delicious dessert.

Rhubarb Custard Tart

For this Rhubarb Custard Tart, I followed Cresent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian recipe.  The crust is particularly worth mentioning, even though it isn't in the photo.  Rather than being a traditional tart crust, this one is a more rustic, hearty crust.  It is multigrain and has wonderful toasted sesame seeds that burst with flavor. 

Vanilla Ice Cream topped with strawberries and cherries

To celebrate Independence Day on July 4, we made homemade ice cream and topped it with strawberry sauce and with cherry sauce.  For the ice cream recipe, we turned to Sherry Yard's wonderful dessert cookbook.

Nectarines, raspberries, and strawberries

This fruit plate was a long-anticipated breakfast dish.  The sliced nectarines, raspberries, and strawberries were sprinkled lightly with sugar and then dribbled with fresh lemon juice.  I had intended to serve the fruit as a dessert plate but then had gotten full before dessert.  The flavor combination was described in Deborah Madison's Savory Way in a section that includes other simple dessert/fruit ideas that highlight the tastes in fabulous combinations.