Apricot

Diced apple, dried apricots and golden raisins accent this 30-minute entrée.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A delicious dessert version of a favorite New Orleans breakfast dish. Pain perdu translates as "lost bread," but you'll find that this is simply a type of French toast.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

A sweet-and-hot glaze dresses up purchased breakfast links. If you prefer extra spice, use the sausages labeled "hot and sweet links."

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

(Tarte Renversée Caramélisée aux Abricots) This terrific dessert is similar to a classic apple-based tarte Tatin.

The nutty topping is the perfect complement to the sweet-and-tart filling.

These sweet, tangy wings should appeal to even the pickiest kid. Eight pounds may sound like a lot, but no matter how many of these we made in our test kitchens, they always disappeared quickly. You may not have the oven space to cook the wings and the macaroni simultaneously. We found it best to do the wings first, then keep them warm under foil while baking the macaroni. Finally, because the wings tend to leave a mess to clean up, we like to make them in disposable foil roasting pans.

For a shiny finish, brush the warm tart with melted apricot preserves.

Terrific with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt.

The tender nut crust and a vanilla bean syrup make these cheesecake-like tartlets extra special. Top with more nuts, if you like.

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.

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